Unknown (AFP) – Images released by the Soyuzmultfilm production studio show a scene from a New Year’s special episode of the Russian cult cartoon Prostokvashino, featuring a character modelled on President Vladimir Putin. The show is a modern successor to a Soviet-era classic and centres on an animated cat and dog who argue over whether the president’s annual televised New Year address is delivered live or pre-recorded. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained Putin’s appearance in Prostokvashino by saying that he is “an integral part of children’s lives and of the country as a whole … The main thing is that the kids are interested!”
