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Putin's 'rape joke'

Quantum

17:57 / 20.10.06

A Kremlin spokesman admitted Mr Putin made a joke, but said it was not meant to be overheard.

I'm pretty much speechless. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said;
"The president was joking. Russian is a very complicated language, sometimes it is very sensitive from the point of view of phrasing. I don't think that the proper translation is able to reflect the meaning of the joke."

Riiiight.

Ticker

18:50 / 20.10.06

*pukes*

WTF is up with people thinking rape is EVER funny?!?!

Israeli police have said there is enough evidence to charge Mr Katsav, 60, over allegations of "rape, forced sexual acts, sexual acts without consent and sexual harassment".

Less searchable M0rd4nt

07:53 / 21.10.06

Sick fuck. It really says something that a man in Putin's position feels comfortable celebrating sexual violence.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

12:59 / 21.10.06

In cases like this I'm usually not only disgusted by the content, but by the stupidity of those involved in not realising this shit gets out. I find it easy to believe a world leader can be extremely objectionable; usually I find it more surprising that they can be dumb enough to say this stuff when there's even the tiniest likelihood of the public hearing.

In Putin's case I'm guessing he was pissed. Remind me never to go for a pint with the unpleasant bastard.

Quantum

14:33 / 21.10.06

...or to report on human rights abuses or corruption etc. then you might get shot.

redtara

14:45 / 21.10.06

i'm with Stoatie. Remind me again why anyone's surprised...

Kremlin's media relations policy

The 48-year-old mother of two was known as a fierce critic of the Kremlin's actions in Chechnya.

Deputy Prosecutor Vyacheslav Rosinsky said that one theory was that the killing had been "linked to the victim's social or professional duties".

Her own newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, suggests on its front page that she was killed for her reporting on Chechnya.

Michelle Gale

15:06 / 21.10.06

Is he making a joke about rape?, from my understanding of what Putin said he was taking the piss out of Olmert and the joke was at the expense of rapists surely? Am not sure how taking the piss out of an alleged rapist in such a public situation is glamorising rape?

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

15:52 / 21.10.06

The "we all envy him" bit is fairly icky though, no?

(Admittedly, that's conceivably one of the bits where translation could make a difference, but given that there are an awful lot of people who speak Russian in Russia and the general consensus seems to be that he was being a dick, that seems like clutching at straws).

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

15:52 / 21.10.06

(And it was Katsav, not Olmert).

Michelle Gale

18:12 / 21.10.06

maybe its was katsav...

miss wonderstarr

09:46 / 22.10.06

The comment seemed to me to be strongly implying that someone who multiple-rapes is a stud and a real man. As such, my first reaction to it was that it displays an utter incomprehension of rape ~ an incredible stupidity, above all.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

12:09 / 22.10.06

Indeed. It wasn't a slightly off-colour mocking of the party for having a sleazebag at their head, it was a joke about the alleged rape itself. Which isn't funny.

All Acting Regiment

12:46 / 22.10.06

Putin said: "What a mighty man he turns out to be! He raped 10 women - I would never have expected this from him. He surprised us all - we all envy him!"

If he was decrying these actions in a satirical manner, i.e. if he cared about the issue and was angry with Katsav, why didn't he make it intentionally public?

miss wonderstarr

13:20 / 22.10.06

I suppose, in the most generous interpretation, his words could be translated as, scathingly, "he raped ten women ~ what a great guy. What a real man."

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

13:56 / 22.10.06

I guess you'd have to have heard his tone of voice. But yes, it's reaching somewhat.

Michelle Gale

15:16 / 22.10.06

If he was decrying these actions in a satirical manner, i.e. if he cared about the issue and was angry with Katsav, why didn't he make it intentionally public?

Making such a comment intentionally public would nobody any favours, as Katsav has not been tried for this yet and it would be politically messy.

I guess you'd have to have heard his tone of voice. But yes, it's reaching somewhat.

I doubt very much anyone would say what Putin is quoted as saying and not be joking. The joke is in pretty bad taste but that doesnt stop it being a joke.

Am wildly generalising (and im sure none of you know this already) but russian culture prides itself on the idea of "laughing through tears" and emphasising the contradictory richness and complexity of a thing, so in coming from that culural context a joke as black as that is unlikley to be meant seriously.

miss wonderstarr

15:34 / 22.10.06

I doubt very much anyone would say what Putin is quoted as saying and not be joking.

That's a pretty great get-out though, that if a comment is really offensive it must be a joke because nobody would ever come out with anything that appalling. Unfortunately, I think some people would.

Quantum

18:02 / 22.10.06

Perhaps if he'd added '...that shows he's not the faggot we thought, thank god!' that would have made it clear it was a joke, %then that would have been fine%.

Like id-entity, I don't care if he was joking. 'Russian is a complicated language' my arse.

We're The Great Old Ones Now

08:54 / 26.10.06

If this is the worst thing Putin did on that day, it was basically a good day.

Observer, October 2000

HRW on Chechnya

HRW on Russia

Quantum

11:00 / 26.10.06

Holy shit.

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