Botox Putin?

[sleepycat]

I wonder if Russian state run TV will air this program back home...

http://www.newsweek.com/putin-beat-ex-wife-and-had-secret-facelift-explosive-documentary-claims-308278

[Boethius]

A man who has a facelift, or botoxes his face, is hardly a man at all.

[fathertime]

A man who has a facelift, or botoxes his face, is hardly a man at all.

I assure you that you just called unknowingly called out a dozen members here by making that judgment...although I'm not one of them...I'm ok enough in my ugliness! 


Fathertime!   

[Boethius]

I assure you that you just called unknowingly called out a dozen members here by making that judgment

I can live with that.  Putin didn't get a very good facelift, either.  He looks horrible.  He should have had it done in New York.  Far more subtle.

[fathertime]

I can live with that.  Putin didn't get a very good facelift, either.  He looks horrible.  He should have had it done in New York.  Far more subtle.

You are entitled to be judgmental.  Myself, I don't really categorize men for getting work done to their face....Women that get false parts or that are musclebound bodybuilders aren't my favorites, but I wouldn't say they 'aren't women'. 


Fathertime!   

[Boethius]

I don't have issues with women who have face work done, or with false parts.  But facelifts are always evident, and there is a vanity to them that, particularly for men, is just evidence of not being a real man.  IMHO.

[lordtiberius]

he regularly beat Lyudmila

A man to admire, eh FT?

[fathertime]

I don't have issues with women who have face work done, or with false parts.  But facelifts are always evident, and there is a vanity to them that, particularly for men, is just evidence of not being a real man.  IMHO.

I have a buddy who had a particularly weak chin, in his 20's...I guess it bugged him a lot...he got something done...and is happy and appears to still be a man....no big deal...don't know why it should be to anyone else.  Why is that important enough to say he is no longer a man? Do you consider this type of facial cosmetic surgery a 'man killer' too?


Fathertime!   

[Boethius]

Not the same as a facelift.  Or botox.

[mendeleyev]

I have no evidence of Lyudmila being beaten, and I know her. Not that it is something that she would reveal, even if true. I cannot imagine her ever talking about it. She strikes me as a classy lady, relieved of the spotlight, but still with a twinge of sadness for what might have been had his career gone differently.




Their seemingly sudden announcement of divorce was a surprise as nobody expected it. They lived apart, but she would show up at the presidential residence at Novo-Ogarvovo for selected diplomatic visits from mainly Western leaders. They had stopped attending church together, with Mr. Putin standing by Moscow Mayor Sobyanin, who seemed to have quietly taken her place at such public venues. Their last church appearance together was Easter of 2011 (2008 had been the most recent before 2011), and the last really public appearance before the divorce announcement was when they cast ballots together for the 2012 election.

In June of 2013, at intermission during a performance of the Esmeralda ballet in the Grand Kremlin Palace, they stepped outside the auditorium to a gathered press corp and made the announcement. As I wrote in an article then, "In the words of the gracious Lyudmila, “our marriage is over because we barely see either other…our children are grown…we simply don’t see each other.” They had been married 30 years.

I was struck at how she spoke for only 19 seconds, yet twice she said "we don't see each other." He seemed relieved at the announcement. She seemed, and often only women seem to have this ability, she seemed sad, yet relieved as if a burden had been lifted, if that makes any sense. She is a linguist and devotes much of her time to projects that promote the integrity of the Russian language. She is also fluent in German.

The Russian opposition took glee in the divorce with the slogan "Lyudmila without Putin" (as in the photo) which was borrowed from the slogan "Russia without Putin." His time off in those days were often spent at the luxury apartment of a certain young single mother in Sochi.

The only hint of discord was his decision to stay with the KGB. He had promised her in their early married years that the job was only temporary, but you really do not leave the KGB unless it first "leaves" you.



The couple early in their East German posting.

[fathertime]

Not the same as a facelift.  Or botox.

So It would appear you implying that certain procedures like the one I described don't make a man, not a man....But a facelift or botox does...maybe a nose job, turkey neck procedure falls in the manly category too....I really don't see the distinction though, it seems rather arbitrary. 


Fathertime! 

[lordtiberius]

So It would appear you implying that certain procedures like the one I described don't make a man, not a man....But a facelift or botox does...maybe a nose job, turkey neck procedure falls in the manly category too....I really don't see the distinction though, it seems rather arbitrary. 


Fathertime!

Are you a man?  Who talks likes this?  I don't even know women or third genders who talk like this.

[lordtiberius]

I have no evidence of Lyudmila being beaten, and I know her. Not that it is something that she would reveal, even if true. I cannot imagine her ever talking about it. She strikes me as a classy lady, relieved of the spotlight, but still with a twinge of sadness for what might have been had his career gone differently.




Their seemingly sudden announcement of divorce was a surprise as nobody expected it. They lived apart, but she would show up at the presidential residence at Novo-Ogarvovo for selected diplomatic visits from mainly Western leaders. They had stopped attending church together, with Mr. Putin standing by Moscow Mayor Sobyanin, who seemed to have quietly taken her place at such public venues. Their last church appearance together was Easter of 2011 (2008 had been the most recent before 2011), and the last really public appearance before the divorce announcement was when they cast ballots together for the 2012 election.

In June of 2013, at intermission during a performance of the Esmeralda ballet in the Grand Kremlin Palace, they stepped outside the auditorium to a gathered press corp and made the announcement. As I wrote in an article then, "In the words of the gracious Lyudmila, “our marriage is over because we barely see either other…our children are grown…we simply don’t see each other.” They had been married 30 years.

I was struck at how she spoke for only 19 seconds, yet twice she said "we don't see each other." He seemed relieved at the announcement. She seemed, and often only women seem to have this ability, she seemed sad, yet relieved as if a burden had been lifted, if that makes any sense. She is a linguist and devotes much of her time to projects that promote the integrity of the Russian language. She is also fluent in German.

The Russian opposition took glee in the divorce with the slogan "Lyudmila without Putin" (as in the photo) which was borrowed from the slogan "Russia without Putin." His time off in those days were often spent at the luxury apartment of a certain young single mother in Sochi.

The only hint of discord was his decision to stay with the KGB. He had promised her in their early married years that the job was only temporary, but you really do not leave the KGB unless it first "leaves" you.



The couple early in their East German posting.

Fighting propaganda with journalism . . .

 

[BillyB]

A man who has a facelift, or botoxes his face, is hardly a man at all.

History may remember Putin as a monster. My wife thinks he's doing Botox. He'll be one of those guys in his 60's looking like a guy in his 40's. Got to look good for that new girlfriend of his.

[Boethius]

They had stopped attending church together, with Mr. Putin standing by Moscow Mayor Sobyanin, who seemed to have quietly taken her place at such public venues. Their last church appearance together was Easter of 2011 (2008 had been the most recent before 2011)

Ironic first, that a former KGB officer and hence, a devoted commie, is suddenly a Christian.  Even more so, that such a "Christian" has no qualms about raining misery and death down on thousands. 

[mendeleyev]

Image is very important to Mr. Putin. For example, the Presidential Press Office has very strict rules at how Mr. Putin can be photographed at official functions. Rarely is he photographed while standing next to a much taller person. If you notice the photos from the most recent Minsk meeting, Mrs. Merkel is flanked on one side by Putin, and on the other by the French president. Those three are of similar heights. Presidents Lukashenko and Poroshenko, both much taller, were positioned as the "bookends." That is just good photography, but if you look at G8 and G20 photos, where Mr. Putin's staff had less to say about positioning, he is often seen as much shorter than those around him.

When he and Medvedev travel together, there are rules about where and how they stand when cameras are rolling. If walking, one is generally a pace behind the other as this gives the perspective of balance when one person is shorter than the other.

As to facial features, Mr. Putin uses his face a lot. Sometimes he gestures with his face in symphony with his hands, and this puts strain on his facial muscles. You may recall photos of him crying after the 2012 election. When tired, his face seems strained, something common to a man of his age.




On a presidential bus in 2012, Saint Petersburg. The man seen standing is Igor Sechin, Rosneft chief, but more importantly Putin's equal or perhaps even his boss. Sechin is head of the infamous Силовики (Siloviki), the group of Oligarchs and Security Services Directors who are often seen as the Kremlin's "shadow government." Although he doesn't have the title, it is common knowledge in Kremlin circles that he controls the FSB.

That being said, Mr. Putin does appear younger as of late.

[mendeleyev]

Ironic first, that a former KGB officer and hence, a devoted commie, is suddenly a Christian.  Even more so, that such a "Christian" has no qualms about raining misery and death down on thousands. 

Over the years he has developed the story of his baptism as a child, etc. He is not stranger to Orthodox practice when attending a liturgy. I cannot ultimately judge his heart, but one must admit that his appearance at small churches around the country certainly bolsters his image with rank and file voters.

[lordtiberius]

You cannot judge his heart but certainly you must have an opinion on what Putin is doing to the Church?

[mendeleyev]

Not being God, my opinion does not really count as to his motives.

This past summer he took some time out one afternoon and visited a church near Moscow State University to pray for the Russian soldiers (who do not exist) that are fighting in Ukraine. I wrote an article about it, but even then did not judge his right to faith, although it was curious to see him pray for something that supposedly does not exist. Except for a few select members of the press, it was not a "public" event and was hardly mentioned at all, for obvious reasons, by the home Russian media.

The presidential residence has a beautiful wooden chapel and I know that he goes there often, and meets with a confessor-priest there from time to time. Those moments are strictly "off camera."

I can only hope that when he prays, he will also listen.

[Doll]

Not being God, my opinion does not really count as to his motives.

This past summer he took some time out one afternoon and visited a church near Moscow State University to pray for the Russian soldiers (who do not exist) that are fighting in Ukraine. I wrote an article about it, 

How do you know  what he was praying for?

[mendeleyev]

It was at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Sparrow Hills. Normally the president does not work from the Kremlin, but on that day he was greeting  former Prime Minister of Japan Yoshiro Mori. Most ceremonial state visits do take place inside the Grand Kremlin Palace.

I was a member of the small press pool. I was there and we were told why we were there. Simple.

[Doll]

I was a member of the small press pool. I was there and we were told why we were there. Simple.

Oh, pleeeeeease! I am in this pool too
Video?

[mendeleyev]

No, actually you are not. I would know if you were. If you were, you'd also know when video is allowed, and when not.

But, as you claim to be, here is a test: Earlier in the day, Mr. Putin cast a ballot for an election. He cast it early because he would be out of the country when the election was held.

What was that election?

[sleepycat]

Doll, getting jealous of all the privileges you are missing out on for not being a "respected Russian journalist"?

 

[lordtiberius]

Putin is destroying Christianity in Russia.  Its that simple