Vladimir Putin Gives Eight Rings to Coalition Leaders, Kremlin Denies Any Connection to “The Lord of the Rings”

Does he want to rule them all? As in Sauron lord of the ringsRussian President Vladimir Putin presented eight rings to the leaders of Moscow’s former Soviet allies on Tuesday, December 27, raising questions about the intent of the message. “It’s a New Year’s souvenir, nothing special”In the evening the Kremlin was reduced.

At the end of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit, the Kremlin handed out nine gold rings with the inscription “New Year 2023” and the symbol of this alliance of several former Soviet republics. Eight foreign heads of state (Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan) received them, as well as Vladimir Putin.

Commentators immediately drew parallels to JRR Tolkien’s work, in which the Master of Evil, Sauron, bestows the Nine Rings on human rulers who later become his servants, the Nazguls. In the book, Sauron secretly creates an additional ring, a ring that allows him to control all the others.

A “sensational” note to the Kremlin, according to one political scientist

Since the Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine, the Ukrainian government has continued to compare Russia to Mordor, Sauron’s kingdom, and Russian soldiers to Orcs, Sauron’s soldiers. According to Russian political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann, these nine rings are a “comedy” know “Feeling” The Kremlin. He notes that the CIS symbol on the rings is reminiscent of the “Eye of Sharon” pattern depicted in the film adaptation of the book.

Critics of the Kremlin, particularly in Ukraine, have compared Vladimir Putin to a Golem maimed by a ring and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Frodo.

On Russian radio station Kommersant FM, journalist Dmitri Dries notes that only Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, one of Vladimir Putin’s few staunch allies in his offensive in Ukraine, has been spotted with a small ring on his finger. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Vladimir Putin would not wear his costume.