“It’s just a souvenir for the New Year, there’s nothing special about it,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Was it a conscious reference to “Lord of the Rings” or a souvenir? Vladimir Putin presented eight rings to the leaders of former Soviet republics, allies of Moscow, prompting many questions and … interpretations, as parallels with Tolkien’s work abound after the start of the war in Ukraine.
After the meeting in St. Petersburg of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which includes many former Soviet republics, the Kremlin presented nine gold rings with the inscription “Happy New Year 2023” and the emblem of the CIS. One ring was given to the leaders of the eight states present at the meeting (Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan) and one was kept by Putin himself.
Commentators immediately made the connection to J.R.R.’s The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien in which the “lord of evil”, Sauron, bestows nine rings on lords of men who then become his loyal servants, the “Nazgul”. With the only difference, in the book, that Sauron secretly makes an extra ring for himself, the one that “rules them all” and allows him to control them.
Critics of the Kremlin, particularly in Ukraine, have compared Putin to Gollum, a creature corrupted by “The One Ring,” and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the hobbit Frodo, who decides to take on the burden of the magic ring and destroy it. After the Russian army invaded, the Ukrainian government often compared Russia to “Mordor”, Sauron’s kingdom, and Russian soldiers to “Orcs”, Sauron’s soldiers.
On Telegram, Russian political scientist Ekaterina Shulman said the nine rings are clearly a “conscious ploy” by the Kremlin. He noted that the CIS emblem on these rings is reminiscent of the “Eye of Sauron” as it appears in the Hollywood film based on Tolkien’s book.
On the Kommersant FM radio station, journalist Dmitry Drize pointed out that the idea of ​​forming a “community of the ring” among the nine leaders “is not really the issue, given the current circumstances.” In fact, he explained, there are serious differences between some CIS leaders, such as between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Drize commented that only Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus and staunch ally of Putin, was seen wearing the ring.
On Tuesday night, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tried to put an end to speculation and interpretation: “It’s just a souvenir for the New Year, there’s nothing special about it,” he said, clarifying that Putin would not wear his own gold ring.
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
