Vladimir Putin plays Lord of the Rings at a rally and gives gold ribbons to the leaders of friendly former Soviet republics

“One ring to rule them all / One ring to find them/A ring to bring them all and bind them in the dark– JRR Tolkien

Almost immediately after Vladimir Putin presented gold rings to the eight other leaders of the so-called Commonwealth of Independent States – a group of Moscow-influenced former Soviet republics. lord of the rings jokes begin. After all, in the lore of the world created by JRR Tolkien, the ruling villain of Middle-earth, Sauron, gave nine rings of power to leaders of men. They in turn “became mighty in their time, kings, magicians and warriors of old”. But one by one the leaders were ruled by the One Ring that Sauron himself possessed, turning into wraiths at his command.

According to reports, Putin himself held a ninth ring to match Tolkien’s fictional nine rings. (It is believed that like Sauron he would keep the One Ring secretly for himself.)

The only leader who appears to be wearing his gift in a group photo from the event is Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who reportedly immediately put the band on his finger.

In a statement from the conclave, Putin vowed to strike a tone of loyalty among CIS countries as the Russian president’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine continues.

Among those who do lord of the rings Comparison was Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, who posted pictures of Gollum, Putin’s own rings – said to have the words “Happy New Year 2023” and “Russia” on them – and Lukashenko in his clothing. Gerashchenko wrote “Expectation: Putin-Sauron” followed by “Reality: Putin-Gollum”.

Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko also posted photos of the rings and wrote: “Putin, fed up with being the Hitler of the 21st century, decided to play Lord of the Rings and become a ‘mighty Sauron’. He followed up with a spoken word clip from Amazon’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, in which he explained the rings and their relationship to the “One Ring.” You can see both posts below.