Vladimir Putin made his presence felt in Russia’s Kremlin-controlled newsrooms this week -- more than usual, that is. Not only did state press agency RIA Novosti come out with a video titled “Prime Minister Visits Russia’s Most Advanced Newsroom” (that being their own), but this just in from Anglophone Kremlin cheerleader Russia Today: “Putin Visits RT.” That’s as much a coincidence as the visits themselves were spontaneous.

Watched side by side, the two “reports” are nearly identical: a pokerfaced prime minister slinks behind nervous journalists as they show Putin images of, well, Putin, as well as some text for past and future stories about… Putin. (At one point the prime minister asks, “Who’s doing all this?” and the RIA journalists quickly answer, “We are!”)

Hey, is that RIA Novosti’s editor in both videos? The orange jumper is a dead giveaway. Not all that surprising, actually, given that Russia Today is part of the RIA Novosti conglomerate, and both news sources have their HQ in the same building. Here’s what really gets us, though. Russia Today’s segment wrap-up sentence: “It is the first time Prime Minister Putin has visited the television station, [which] he inspired three years ago.” Inspired? Did they let the excitement go to their heads, or what?

Good thing we have a source in the Russian PR industry to break this down for us. Putin’s visits probably signal that these two propaganda agencies currently enjoy the Kremlin's favor, which, as we've said before, translates to a bigger cut of the federal budget. Says our informant, “If you see Putin taking part in a PR stunt like this, that's always a good sign for the organizers.” So, we guess congratulations are in order? We’ll be sure to send a fruit basket.

Original photo courtesy of Cache.daylife.com