Baby tigress tames Putin
The former president cast loving looks at the baby cat as he posed with it in Moscow for journalists.
The two and a half-month-old tigress, which weighs 10 kilos, has yet to be named, although Mashenka and Milashka are said to be possibilities.
The unusual gift was given to Mr Putin by an unidentified supporter and will apparently be handed over to a zoo.
The Amur tiger, the world's biggest wild cat, has recently pounced back from the brink of extinction to hit its highest population level for at least 100 years, the WWF said last year.
However, fewer than 400 are currently believed to survive in the wilds of Russia and China.
Human settlement has encroached on the cats' habitat, and they also are in danger from poachers who want hides and bones for traditional Chinese medicine.
Mr Putin is no stranger to animals and is often seen in the company of his beloved labrador Koni.
He also has a history with tigers. In August he shot one of the big cats with a tranquilizer dart, saving a camera crew from its jaws in the process.
The Siberian big cat had apparently escaped from a trap and was heading straight for them.
According to the witnesses, the journalists from major newspapers were called to an emergency meeting at President Putin's country estate, on which, they were told, "something important will be announced". Once there, there were ushered into the billiard room and left waiting for more than four hours, without being told anything. Their editors kept calling them, reminding them that this will be front-page news and has to be submitted ASAP.
President Putin arrived after midnight and demonstrated the baby tiger to the journalists. Next day this was indeed a prominent feature in TV and newspaper reports.
As to the reason why this was considered such an important news item: there is an unofficial directive to keep news positive in Russia at the time of economic crisis. The words "crisis" or "collapse" are black-listed; instead it is recommended that the news anchors use words such as "decrease" or "slow-down". The baby tiger is exactly the kind of a "feel-good" news item that will be welcome in this time.
The cat that Putin has shot with a tranquilizer dart is another characteristic story. This happened during his visit to a nature preserve in Far East and was a staged scene. The tigress he shot and released was one of half-tamed caged animals on display there. After having been sedated, she has never fully recovered and eventually died. Her care-givers suspect that the dose of the sedative was too high, to guarantee the President's safety.