All dressed up (in your Vladimir Putin T-shirt, splashed with a dab of Vladimir Putin perfume) and nowhere to go?
Worry no more, if you happen to live in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, where a Putin-themed cafe has opened to provide food and fun for patriotic Russians.
Photographs of the president adorn the walls of President Cafe, while a lifesize cutout of him is available for selfies.
The pictures on the wall span Putin’s life from young KGB agent to judo aficionado and international statesman.
“When we got together with partners to open a new cafe, we thought of a concept that would attract customers and guarantee its success,” Dmitry Zhdanov, the 26-year-old co-owner of the cafe, told Reuters.
“And it then dawned on us: Russia still had no cafe or restaurant fully dedicated to Putin, Russia’s most popular politician” he said. “This is how our concept appeared. Then we worked on the design.”
The only place where visitors won’t find Putin is in the toilets: here, another president dominates, as Barack Obama’s face adorns the toilet paper and mats on the floor are decked out in US flags.
Another of the cafe’s directors, Svetlana Lautman, spent three years studying in the US before returning to Russia.
She told the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda she thought there was “nothing to do; no leisure activities” in the US and described Americans as “like helpless kittens” when faced with a crisis.
“When I got back to Russia I couldn’t believe it. Everyone is unhappy, and doesn’t see all the things that are around them. I met a girl who said it was her dream to live in America. How can you even say that? You should work to make your home comfortable first. And that depends on all of us.
“That’s why we have a sign on the wall that says: ‘What have you done for Russia?’”
