MOSCOW -- A prominent Russian prank-calling duo confessed
Wednesday that they had fooled singer Elton John into thinking
he had a heartfelt discussion about LGBT rights with Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
"Yes, it was us," Vladimir Krasnov, who goes by the nickname
Vovan, told the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda. He said
an 11-minute recording of the conversation would be played
Wednesday on a Russian late-night comedy show.
The telephone conversation produced a warm note on Instagram
from John, who unexpectedly posted a portrait of Putin earlier
this week and wrote: “Thank-you to President Vladimir Putin for
reaching out and speaking via telephone with me today. I look
forward to meeting with you face-to-face to discuss LGBT
equality in Russia.” He added the hashtag #sharethelove.
For just a moment, it seemed that John's star power could break
through the acrimonious debate over Russian laws against "gay
propaganda" that were adopted to international condemnation in
2013. John told the BBC last week that he would "love to sit
down" with Putin and try to change his mind about the laws.
That moment was short lived. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov soon
denied that the conversation ever took place, while John’s
manager insisted that it had.
Enter Vovan and Lexus (real name Alexey Stolyarov), who admitted
Wednesday that they impersonated Putin and his press secretary
and reached John by phone in the early afternoon in London.
"Elton John was very much waiting for his call, so he
immediately believed in the reality of the conversation with the
people that we said we were," Krasnov said. "He said: "Thank
you, you've made my day. This day and conversation were the most
remarkable and beautiful in my life!"
Krasnov's remarks to the newspaper were brief, and it was not
immediately clear why they chose to target John. While their
list of victims has included garden-variety Russian celebrities,
they have focused on political enemies of the Kremlin, including
former Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili, former
heavyweight boxer and now Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko, Ukrainian
oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, and Russian journalist and socialite
Ksenia Sobchak.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/09/16/two- russian-phone-pranksters-say-they-faked-putins-call-to-elton-
john/
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