The Globe and Mail's Patricia Best relays a hilarious story about one of my favourite world leaders.
The set-up is some story-telling by long-time Washington insider David Gergen at one a recent Grano event. On a trip to Russia in 2005, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft had a very impressive bauble with him ...
It seems at one point in a meeting with (then-President Vladimir) Putin, Mr. Kraft was encouraged to show the leader his 2005 Super Bowl ring - a 124-diamond encrusted heavy-duty piece of bling. He pulled it out of his pocket - he doesn't wear it - and Mr. Putin took it, tried it on, showed it around and commented: "You know, you could kill a man with this." He then pocketed the valuable memento and later left the meeting without returning it.
Mr. Kraft asked Mr. Putin's officials a few times during the rest of the visit when the ring would be returned, to no avail. The story of Mr. Putin taking the ring subsequently hit the media. Mr. Gergen told the luncheon group that Mr. Kraft then got a call from the State Department saying the Putin government was "furious because the accusation is that Putin is a thief" and asking the businessman to put out a fence-mending statement. Which he did, saying, "Upon seeing the ring, President Putin, a great and knowledgeable sports fan, was clearly taken with its uniqueness. At that point, I decided to give him the ring" as a token of "respect and admiration."
And because if he didn't, Vlad would have nuked Gillette Stadium. :)