Booing Putin

The prime minister, you'd think, would be among some of his greatest fans in a martial arts arena. Not so, it seems. Glenn Kates looks into the incident further:

Later in the day, Mr. Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, offered a different explanation. “Vladimir Putin didn’t take this to be directed at him, because from where he stood, it was absolutely clear that all of those disapproving cries, boos were directed at the fighter who had lost,” Mr. Peskov said, according to Interfax New Agency. “The moment Putin was entering the ring and the moment Monson was leaving for the dressing room coincided.

But if the boos from the stands touched a nerve for Mr. Putin, the accusations by his press secretary of poor sportsmanship on the part of Russian fans seemed to have opened an even bigger wound. Hundreds of fans have taken to Mr. Monson’s Facebook page with a message — the booing they say, was not for him, but for Mr. Putin.