Yes, that blond guy on the left in the tourist disguise is the future president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, asking mysteriously "pointed" questions to the visiting head of state. I got this one from Brian Whitmore at Transmission - Joshua Keating at FP Passport is also on top of it.
Not him
Nose and cheeks too different
another attempt by the obama administration to slander the image of Putin. This pic has been taken by the official photographer of obama. You think the white house official photographer wouldn't need approval for the release info about a photograph the subject matter of which affects US-Russia relations? I mean this guy had 9 years to get this photo out at the very least. And then he chooses this time and not just any time mind you, a time when he's the official photographer of Obama. Shame on you Obama.
Shame on YOU, "someone rightly"! What ARE you talking about??? "This pic has been taken by the official photographer of obama"? Obama was barely a teenager when this photo was taken, and his "official photographer" may not even have been born at the time! This is a public-domain photograph that has existed as a public document for over 20 years already, not a mere "9 years", as you say. And White House photographers don't need approval to release photos, because they don't release photos at all! They just take them, and the White House press office does the releasing. The only thing new about this photo is somebody's absolutely idiotic contetion that the man on the left is Vladimir Putin. To me, he looks a lot more like Stanislav Markelov, except that Markelov would have been a child at the time.
I also draw your attention to the fact that Andrei Piontkovsky himself has said that it is highly unlikely that it is Putin in this photo. He was too low down on the chain of command, and posted to East Germany.
While we're playing who's-who with this photo, isn't the man with the fish-eye glasses in the center of the picture the founder of the Institute for US and Canadian Studies, Georgiy Arbatov? And the man in the gray suit at the right of the photo, behind Reagan's left shoulder, sure looks like a cross between Gorbachev and Chernomyrdin. Finally, the man standing between "Putin" and Arbatov bears an uncanny resemblance to current Industry Minister Viktor Khristenko, although Khristenko would have been much younger at the time this photo was taken. Anybody recognize anyone else?
I am not sure whether the fellow is Putin. But he does look very much like Jeffrey Dahmer, the serial killer and cannibal.
LAWL at Gary.
Thanks a lot for post