Putin and Medvedev are Singing Comic Couplets

Who says that Russians don’t have a sense of humor? Watch the video (below) and then read the article Making a Little Fun of Russia’s Powerful (New York Times), which gives some more background information regarding the video skit. Thanks to Joera Mulders for first posting the video.

When it aired last night, I was out on our friends’ balcony watching the amazing fireworks “show” throughout the city. Thousands, and I mean thousands, of people lit their own fireworks off from courtyards and street corners. The fireworks over Krasnodar lasted for a good solid 20 minutes. It was impressive (hopefully nobody got hurt).

Here’s the link to the YouTube video for those of you reading inside Facebook.

UPDATE:

Here’s a translated transcript of the New Year’s video.

The word on the building “krosaffcheg” is corrupted “krasavchik” (handsome) written in the Internet slang.

M: Since it became a tradition to summarize each year
P: We will do it right now too

P: Well done (molodets)
M: Thank you
M: You first

P: I was driving Niva (Putin’s car model) with Jacques Rogge a Sochi road (Olympics 2014)
M: And he didn’t feel like being picky anymore

I am not sure but I think it refers to our roads. Here we say there are two troubles in Russia – fools and roads.

M: Wonderful

P: I took care of the situation in Pikalyovo and now everything is alright there
M: Now even Deripaska feels secure there

It refers to the situation in Pikalyovo when two owners of the plant couldn’t deal with each other and didn’t pay the workers so Putin had to come and take care of the situation and force the owners to sign the contract. One of the owners, Deripaska, tried to avoid it, so Putin had to tell him to put the signature right there in front of him.

P: How are we?
M: I think we rock, Vladimir Vladimirovich
P: I agree

M: Believe it or not but I get online everyday (Medvedev has a video blog)
P: I know. Sometimes I get online too and say “Preved, Medved”

Preved, Medved is an Internet slang greeting, corrupted “Hello, Bear” (Medved’ means Bear)

M: Yes, I remember. Funny link
P: Thank you
P: Well done

M: It’s the second year I wish people Happy New Year
P: You know, one of us did it 9 times

M: Yes I remember
M: I agree

M: We will accomplish the Northstream and Southstream at the right time
P: And the Nabucco will, excuse me, suck

M: Opa!
P: America Europe
P: Vot tak! (something like this is how it is)
M: I agree

M: We asked Kiev (Ukraine) to pay for gas with money this time
P: Not with fairy tales, pancakes and impudent Yushchekos

“Impudent Yuchenkos” is wordplay.
Here Yushchenkos (yushchenkami) sounds like puppies (shchenkami) made of the name of the Ukrainian president.
“Impudent”, in Russian “borzoi, borzaya”, also means “greyhound”.
In Czar Russia greyhound puppies were given to lords as a bribe.

M: Precisely
M: Opa!
P: Good

M: However our Sberbank (our main state bank) tried, they couldn’t buy Opel
P: And now that vaunted Open may get in …
M: A deep crisis, Vladimir Vladimirovich

There meant to be “may get in ass (v popye)” because it rhymes. In Russian “to be in ass” means “to be in trouble”.

P: Opa!
M: I agree

M: Bureaucrats used to work under the table
P: Now they will modestly live somewhere else (in jail, that is)

M: Tough
P: But fair
P: Opa!

Both: We would sing more couplets but have to work. Happy New Year, friends! Opa

via AnastasiaCarroll.com

Tagged as: medvedev, new years, putin