Chairman of the Government V V Putin (1952- ), riding his Harley trike at a biker rally in Sevastopol…
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During a brief visit to the Ukraine, Chairman of the Government V V Putin arrived at the 14th International Bike Show, which took place at Lake Gasfort, riding a Harley tricycle at the head of the bikers. Mounted on a modified Harley Davidson Le Mans, decorated with the Russian and Ukrainian flags, Putin wore a black shirt, black jeans, a baseball cap, dark glasses, and black gloves. Vladimir Vladimirovich called his trike his “iron growler”, and called the participants in the rally, “brothers”, during his opening speech. “Where else can you see such cool machines, such cool hardware, as I see today? Bikes are the most democratic form of transport. Bikes are daring and brash, they give a rider a sweet feeling of freedom, and, therefore, it’s no exaggeration to say that the bike is a symbol of freedom. You came here because you’re free, you can go where you want, and that there are a lot of people gathered here from all over Europe is highly symbolic. That tells us that we already live in a single space, as Mayakovsky said, a single human race in a single human society”, Putin said. He spoke with the bikers, and he signed autographs on motorcycle postcards, the seat of a motorcycle, and even signed a banknote for a biker from Prague. One of the girlfriends of the bikers asked him to sign her hand, but Vladimir Vladimirovich wouldn’t sign it, he kissed her hand instead.
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here’s a song by Alisa… they’re as popular amongst Russian bikers as Steppenwolf is amongst American riders…
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According to organisers, the event brought together bikers from Belarus, the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Serbia, the USA, and Israel. The Bike Show had a special focus on the Black Sea Fleet (it was held on the eve of Navy Day) and on the 65th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany. “Tomorrow, Russian and Ukrainian sailors will stand together, as our nations were one for many centuries. For this, I give many thanks to the Ukrainian leadership, especially President Viktor Yanukovich, for their decisions about the Black Sea Fleet, and for the [good] atmosphere it created in relations between our fraternal peoples, of Russia and the Ukraine”, the chairman said. For the second year in a row, the International Bike Show was held in Sevastopol. Amongst the organisers of the event was the Night Wolves MC from Moscow. Last year, Putin visited the Moscow clubhouse of the Night Wolves MC, and gave the head of the club, A S Zaldostanov (“the Surgeon”), a Russian flag. The Night Wolves MC was the first biker club in the USSR, and, then, in the RF, being founded in 1989 in Moscow.
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Chairman Putin with A S Zaldostanov (“the Surgeon”), the head of the Night Wolves MC in Moscow
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Later, Putin conveyed greetings from the bikers to Ukrainian President Yanukovich, whom he met at the Ukrainian presidential summer residence in Foros. “I want to convey to you their greetings and thanks, they understand how difficult it is (to arrange a personal visit), what an additional burden it is for the authorities, when there are thousands gathered from all over Europe”, he said. When it was time for him to leave, Vladimir Vladimirovich led a biker procession on his trike, whilst the bikers held a race on the Sevastopol ring road.
24 July 2010
RIA-Novosti
click on the first link below… the page has a 2-minute vid in English:
http://english.ruvr.ru/rtvideo/2010/07/24/video_13302817.html
Voices from Russia 
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