Fellas, do not try to kiss Putin’s hand

Russia’s president evidently does not like having his hand kissed, even by Orthodox priests: The video has become a viral hit in Russia, the Moscow Times reports.  Apparently, there’s some history between the two men:  Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Izvestia on Tuesday that the priest "is a foreigner and very emotional." Peskov added that Putin and the priest, Father ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.

Russia's president evidently does not like having his hand kissed, even by Orthodox priests:

Russia’s president evidently does not like having his hand kissed, even by Orthodox priests:

The video has become a viral hit in Russia, the Moscow Times reports.  Apparently, there’s some history between the two men: 

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Izvestia on Tuesday that the priest "is a foreigner and very emotional."

Peskov added that Putin and the priest, Father Mefody, had known each other for 10 years and that Putin had warned him about physical gestures many times before, hence the hand gesture.

Mefody, who is from Macedonia and serves as an aide to the monastery’s head, told Interfax that there was nothing wrong with kissing a president’s hand.

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

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