Russians all look the same to Mubarak

VLADIMIR RODIONOV/AFP/Getty Images

Whether Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency will resemble Vladimir Putin’s is an open question, but according to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the two men resemble each other physically as well.

At a meeting at Putin’s official residence on the outskirts of Moscow on Tuesday, 79-year-old Mubarak told Putin that the physical similarities with Medvedev were almost uncanny.

“Your appearances are very much alike,” Mubarak said before heading in for talks with Putin.

“When going to meet Medvedev, I saw you on the television and felt at a loss as to who is who.”

We should, perhaps, cut one of the world’s oldest leaders some slack, but Putin and Medvedev obviously look nothing alike. Besides, there’s a handy trick for telling your Russian leaders apart: Ever since Lenin, the country’s rulers have alternated between bald men and those with hair.

(Hat tip: Johnson’s Russia List)