The government last Monday ordered the removal of mysterious posters put up around central Moscow showing Russia’s ruling tandem posing in matching tennis shorts.
Several posters with the logo of the upmarket department store TsUM were posted close to the store in central Moscow last Monday, an AFP photographer witnessed.
The posters show President Dmitry Medvedev holding a tennis racket, while Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is empty-handed and looking slightly pained. Their pristine outfits have monograms “M” and “P” on the chests.
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
The posters are stylized as ads for the department store’s spring/summer 2011 campaign.
The Russian government ordered Moscow city hall to remove the posters by the end of last Monday, Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, told the Interfax news agency, called the posters “clearly commercial” and “bordering on hooliganism.”
The TsUM department store denied any connection to the posters.
“We would like officially to inform that TsUM department store has no relation to this advertising, and using (the) TsUM trademark in this case is illegal,” the store said in a statement sent to the AFP.
The posters include the address of a website called Monolog.tv, and the artist’s e-mail.
The artist, who declined to give a name, said in an e-mail to the AFP that the posters were “street art.”
“I took the two most famous people in our country ... who are completely isolated from the world of fashion and showbusiness,” the artist wrote.
“We usually see Putin and Medvedev buttoned-up and I wanted to show them as fashionable, relaxed guys who follow trends and have an active way of life.”
Neither leader has expressed particular enthusiasm for tennis, which was the favorite sport of first Russian president Boris Yeltsin. Putin is known as a judo enthusiast while Medvedev has said he enjoys yoga.
(AFP)
俄國執政雙人組穿整套網球短褲的照片，現身於來路不明且張貼在莫斯科市中心大街小巷的海報上，政府上週一下令拆除。
一位法新社攝影記者上週一親眼目睹許多標有上流百貨公司TsUM商標的海報，被張貼在這個位於莫斯科市中心的百貨公司附近。
海報上是俄羅斯總統德米崔‧麥維德夫拿著網球拍，而俄羅斯總理弗拉吉米爾‧普廷則兩手空空且面露難色。在他們純潔服裝的胸口上，分別有「M」與「P」的字母組合圖案。
這些被設計過的海報是這間百貨公司二零一一年春／夏季活動的廣告。
普廷的新聞秘書德米崔‧佩斯可夫告訴俄羅斯國際文傳社說，俄羅斯政府下令莫斯科市政府在上週一結束前，清除這些海報，他稱海報「顯然以商業為目」且「簡直是無賴行為」。
TsUM百貨公司否認與這些海報有任何關聯。
百貨公司在一篇寄給法新社的聲明稿上說，「我們想正式知會大眾，TsUM百貨公司與此廣告無關，且此海報在這起事件中使用TsUM的註冊商標是違法的。」
海報上有一個網址Monolog.tv以及藝術家的電子郵件地址。
不願意具名的藝術家在一封給法新社的電子郵件說，這些海報是「街頭藝術」。
這位藝術家寫道，「我以我國最負盛名的兩位人士為題…因他們完全被孤立於時尚與演藝圈之外。」
這位藝術家說，「我們通常看到普廷與麥維德夫內斂的一面，而我想要將他們呈現為時尚且放鬆的男子，不但跟隨潮流，也充滿活力。」
這兩位領導人皆未對網球有特別的熱忱，不過俄羅斯首任總統鮑里斯‧葉爾欽則視網球為最愛的運動。眾所周知普廷熱愛柔道，而麥維德夫則曾說過他享受做瑜珈。
（法新社／翻譯：林亞蒂）
Taiwan Travelogue, the novel by Taiwanese author Yang Shuang-zi and translated into English by Lin King, won the prestigious International Booker Prize in London on May 19. It marks the first time a Taiwanese literary work has received the International Booker Prize, setting a historic milestone both for Taiwanese literature and for the award itself. Prior to this achievement, Taiwan had only once appeared on the Booker radar, when Taiwanese author Wu Ming-yi was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2018 with The Stolen Bicycle. The International Booker Prize honors works of fiction translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland.
A: Time magazine recently released its list of “The 100 Most Influential People of 2026.” It’s categorized into six groups: Artists, Pioneers, Titans, Icons, Leaders and Innovators. B: TSMC chairman C.C. Wei made the list this year. Which category is he in? A: Wei is actually among the Pioneers, with figures including Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro and MrBeast — the first YouTuber ever to surpass 400 million subscribers. B: Led by Wei, Taiwan’s “silicon shield” TSMC is the sixth-largest company in the world. A: As Nvidia founder Jensen Huang wrote in his introduction, “C.C. Wei is truly one of the
The animal kingdom is full of surprises that challenge our understanding of biology. From remarkable feeding mechanisms to extreme defense strategies, some creatures possess traits so unusual that they seem like pure fiction. Here are four fascinating examples that show nature’s endless creativity. The humble snail may appear simple, but its mouth tells a different story. Snails possess a ribbon-like tongue called a radula, densely covered with anywhere from 1,000 to 12,000 tiny teeth. This structure works like a cheese grater, allowing them to scrape and grind food with surprising efficiency. Far from being passive creatures, snails are actually
A: In the 2026 Time 100 list, besides TSMC chairman C.C. Wei in the Pioneers category, Blackpink’s Jennie also stands out in the Artists group. B: What about the Titans and Icons? A: The Titans include legendary fashion designer Ralph Lauren, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Intel CEO Tan Lip-bu. The Icons include actor Wagner Moura, Olympic gold figure skater Alysa Liu and singer Victoria Beckham. B: What about the Leaders and Innovators? I bet US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are on the list. A: You got it. Other Leaders include Japanese PM Sanae
RSS