A controversial Russian election campaign advert compares voting for Vladimir Putin to losing your virginity. While the clip perhaps showcases a gentler side to Russian politics than often violent campaign intimidation, this disturbing video is a masterclass in creepiness.
With a young girl informing a fortune teller that it will be her “first time”, a tarot card with Vladimir Putin’s image on it is followed by the slogan:
“Putin. The first time — only for love.”
This is not the first time Putin’s campaign has taken to full-blown sexual innuendo as an electoral strategy. Back in November, Scrapbook’s attention was drawn to a comparably disturbing video featuring a couple emerging tousle-haired after an encounter in, erm, a polling booth.
It seems Putin is picking up from where Berlusconi left off — as the dirty old man of European politics.
