Eight rings to let them know he wants to rule them all? After a climax St. Petersburg The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), an alliance of several former Soviet republics, presented gold rings for the Kremlin on Tuesday to the heads of eight foreign countries (Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan)
A blunt reference to the nine rings that Sauron bestowed upon the human rulers who served him, ” lord of the rings References to this work abound since Tolkien’s invasion of the Ukraine by JRR has not gone unnoticed.
Sauran kingdom?
Critics of the Kremlin, particularly in Ukraine, have compared Vladimir Putin to a Golem maimed by a ring and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Frodo.
After the Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine, the Ukrainian government continues to make comparisons Russia For Sauron’s kingdom “Mordor” and Russian soldiers for “Orcs” and Sauron’s soldiers.
A conscious joke?
In Telegram, Russian political scientist Ekaterina Shulman believes that these nine rings are a visible “feeling” of the Kremlin’s “joke”. He notes that the CIS symbol on the rings is reminiscent of the “Eye of Sauron” pattern depicted in the Hollywood adaptation of the book.
On Russian radio Kommersant FM, journalist Dmitry Dries, less enthusiastically, points out that the idea of a “ring of society” between the nine leaders is “not really our thing in the current situation.” Indeed, major differences divide some of the current leaders, notably Armenian leaders Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani Ilham Aliyev, who oppose the question of the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
A memory for the new year
Dmitry Dries notes that only Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, one of Vladimir Putin’s few definite allies in the attack in Ukraine, was seen with a small ring on his finger.
On Tuesday evening, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment. “It’s a New Year’s souvenir, there’s nothing special about it,” he said, adding that Vladimir Putin will not wear the gold ring he has.
“Web specialist. Infuriatingly humble coffee ninja. Wannabe zombie advocate. Subtly charming tv fanatic. Avid social media scholar.”