This is a true story; it first appeared on Ynet - a most popular israeli news and general content website .
It all began in 2005. Vladimir Putin, president of the Russian Federation, visited Israel. Prior to his visit, an elderly woman came to the russian embassy in Tel-Aviv, and left a message for him.
He remembered her; she was his favorite teacher in high school, in St.Petersburg, She was the german language teacher. He invited her to a private talk with him ; shortly after that, she received his signed autobiography book, and a wrist watch as a present.
Mina Yuditskaya Berliner - the teacher, with Putin's autobiography
the watch she got as a present from Putin
(the above pictures are from Ynet).
So far, so good. The best was yet to come.
Several weeks later, the then 84 year old lady ,was surprised by the visit of a russian embassy employee who informed her that Putin wanted to buy her an apartment. At that time, she was living in a tiny apartment , not her own, on the third floor, in a building without lift. The embassy worker asked for her cooperation in choosing the right apartment for her.
She died in December 2017, three months ago, at the age of 96. In her will, she asked for the little apartment to be returned to Putin through the russian embassy (She was a widow with no children or close family). At the funeral, Putin was represented by a memember of the russian embassy which , according to the media, also paid for the burrial expenses.
(This moving story has generated in the media some talkbackers' jokes on... Macron, the french PM. Putin bought his teacher an apartment!? Look what Macron did for his teacher. He not only bought her a home, he also married her, and raised her children from a previous marriage...ha, ha, ha).
Well, may the teacher's soul rest in peace! The above story shows a generous, grateful side to Putin's character.
So much media bias for the kindness people do. So sad.
ReplyDeleteActually, the media was OK with the facts. It's the commenters, the talkbackers that found the subject a "golden mine" for jokes. To this day, the favorite 'joke' is that Putin will not let Tel Aviv be bombed, as he's got an apartment there.
DeleteThis is an interesting story. So glad you shared it. The comments that follow stories tell me a lot. Either they bring out the best or the worst in people it seems. Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteRight. The talkback system that allows one to comment on articles posted on a website, brings out "either the best or the worst in people". However, in the above case, the jokes are not wicked (in my opinion).
DeleteI have a love and hate attitude towards Putyenka, sometimes I really like him, and he has tons of extremely admirable qualities, and then sometimes he shocks me with some phobic attitudes. Russians do have a soul and heart as massive as the world itself, just as most other Slavic people do, it is in our culture and tradition.
ReplyDeletePerhaps he felt it was the least he could do for her. Apparently, she did a very good job in helping him master the german language. I remember reading somewhere that before becoming president he worked in East Germany for several years.
DeleteLike all political leaders there are those that like and those that dislike. I am on the dislike side but that does not take away his generosity or his love of this lady and the way he took care of her. Nice to know he has that side. My dislike comes from what is happening between USSR and the Ukraine of which my husband's family is from. Also from meddling in the American election as I don't believe Trump would have won without that and the world and America deserves far better than Trump
ReplyDeleteYou're definitely entitled to your likes and dislikes.
DeleteNow, if it's true that the russians interfered in the last elections, what does that say about America's security? where were her CIA, FBI, and all the others?!
I so enjoy visiting your blog. I always find interesting information. Your blog posts are like documentaries, so enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words.
DeleteI've never heard of this side of Putin before! He is a trained spy, and doesn't seem to have any morals. Poisoning is a big thing in Russia, dating back a long time.
ReplyDeleteSo, they say. His training as a spy demanded that he excelled in everything: good or bad.
DeleteAs for morals, that's a very complex matter, not only where spies are concerned. Take lawyers for example (I won't give names), they were not only immoral and unethical, but totally incompetent as leaders of states.
Interesting story about Putin, Duta! It's good to read positive something positive about him and others in the limelight, instead of all the negative. I definitely disagree with Cheapchick, above, and her remark about Trump. He's the best thing that has happened to America in many years! The FBI, CIA, etc need help big time! Anyway, RIP to the teacher!
DeleteIf I come upon a positive story like the above one, I'm more than glad to share it. I particularly like it when a man depicted by others as big evil, shows us an other side of the coin.
DeleteAs for America, I think it's very tragic that almost half of the nation refuses to accept the result of democratic elections and let its president do his job. It's a bad example to the entire world.
Duta, I read your comment on Mary's post and thought I would visit your site. Glad I did. It is good to see another side of someone who you usually hear bad about.. thanks for posting the story.
ReplyDeleteWelcome! Thanks for your visit and comment. Yes, it's good to see people are not all ngative, and that there's some redeeming quality in each of them.
DeleteThank you for sharing that Putin story. He is a great strategist and strong leader.
ReplyDeleteThe US voters voted how they wanted and Hillary Clinton is a sore loser. The US did the world a big favour in saving us from her. The US should unite behind Trump, put there differences aside, anything else sends out signals of weakness.
I have not commented here but often see your comments on Weaver's blog and came across from there.
You're welcome, Rachel. Thanks for your comment.
DeleteI must admit I don't like politics and politicians at all. However, since I don't live in a vacuum, I try to go with the flow. On elections day I'll play the voting game like all the other citizens, but...I'll obey its rules. I'll accept the final result without any hesitation.
What happened in America after the last elections made me very sad. All those shoutings of "He's not my president", and the daily attempts to discredit Trump are, I think a sign of the beginning of the great american's nation disintegration. I hope I'm wrong.
That is a nice story, Duta. I enjoyed reading it.
ReplyDelete~Sheri
Aמd a true one too. Glad you've enjoyed reading it.
DeletePutin is such a remarkable and sensitive human being ! In spite of being the most powerful man in the world he recognized and showed respect for his teacher. Incredible & incredulous that he bought her an apartment too. An epochal gesture.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about his gesture to the teacher.
DeleteI believe he's also loyal to his allies, despite of what we might think about them (Assad,for example, is not our cup of tea, but Putin doesn't let him fall).
I enjoyed being given a different perspective on Putin. Too often the leaders of nations are given too black a press, as with Trump.
ReplyDeleteHi Vera,
Delete" a different perspective" - sounds good.
I liked the story when it first appeared in the press, and even more, recently, when it reappeared on the "occasion" of the old lady's death.
Yes, it does show a different side to Putin's character.
The media does it's best to portray only the worst...and we wonder why bullying is growing throughout the world, in our schoolyards...everywhere.
ReplyDeletePromoting the bad, the nasty is a popular game. Promoting good seems to be out of fashion. The time has come for it to be brought back...
You're absolutely right. Unfortunately, it is the bad that sells best - hence the promoting of it. The bad is also more sensational than the good, and, for some reason, people are constantly hungry for sensations.
ReplyDeleteI love this story, Duta! I love Putin. He gets all kinds of horrible press here in the US, but I don't believe most of it.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I like that the watch has big numbers for her to see. :) A small detail, but important when you are 84. She lived to be 96...wow! She looks so proud holding that book. I bet she was touched that he remembered her all those years later.
She must have been quite a teacher and personality! I remember reading in the press that she felt very proud of her former student Vladimir Putin, and that she followed his career from afar.
DeleteYou're right about the watch; you're good at observing important details.
"...but I don't believe most of it."
DeleteHahah...that kind of sounds like I believe some horrible things. ;-) I don't really!
Did you know he gave Benjamin Netanyahu a bible? I wrote about it on my blog. I saw it in a German news online, but it did not appear in American media as far as I could tell. There was a video of it on Netanyahu's website (August 25, 2017...If I remember correctly) or click Netanyahu on my blog labels.
I didn't know about the Bible. I know, however, that Heads of State exchange presents during visits. The presents are not always revealed to the public.
DeleteAnyway, thanks for sharing the info.
It's admirable that he felt the need to take care of someone from his childhood. I have many teachers that if I had the means I would have loved to have helped financially. Excellent post as always!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Alicia, you would have liked to help; you sound to me as a person with a big heart. I'm also sure your teachers loved to have you as their student.
DeleteThank you Duta, what a lovely compliment :)
DeleteInteresting.
ReplyDeleteSoft side of a hard guy.
Indeed. I suppose even a hard guy has a soft side hidden somewhere under his rough appearance and attitude.
DeleteThis is very interesting. I love the history here.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear from you! Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteWe come upon sad/dull life stories daily. Once in a while, we get to learn about something that's interesting, touching, brightens our face. The above story is one like that.
Putin is still a piece of sh*t! Did you know he's now blaming Jews for interfering with the 2016 election?? He gave America the worst nightmare ever with Trump!
ReplyDeleteTell me something new, Joyce - who in the whole history of mankind hasn't blamed jews for something. Sadly, we're used to it.
DeleteAs for the elections in America, how could a russian "piece of sh*t" decide who'll run the mightiest and strongest nation in the world? Where was America's security? If it's true, that's a big shame, and you shoudn't repeat this acusation.
Wow. It also shows how deep a teacher can impact their students. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteIn those times a teacher was expected to do her job (teach) the best way she could, and the student and his family were forever grateful.
ReplyDeleteNowadays,there's almost no gratitude. The teacher is expected " to play God" , and since that's impossible, he gets quite low-ranked among the other professionals.