Image courtesy: AP
After an Alaskan man went viral on Russian state television for complaining that the cost of repairing his Soviet-era motorcycle had increased due to the conflict in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a benevolent gesture, gave him a brand-new motorcycle, according to the New York Post.Mark Warren, a retired Anchorage fire inspector, claimed that last week, just after Putin’s high-profile meeting with US President Donald Trump, he received the keys to a new Ural motorcycle from Andrei Ledenev, a representative of the Russian embassy. In a video later shown on state television, the Russian official told Warren, “I have to say that this is a personal gift from the President of the Russian Federation.”The heartwarming scenario unfolded on August 9 when Warren was out on his ancient Soviet-era motorcycle running errands when he was stopped by a Russian TV crew. After admiring his ride, the reporter asked him about the Putin-Trump meeting and the war’s economic effects.Warren told the Anchorage Daily News that the numerous sanctions imposed on Russia had made it difficult and expensive to fix spare components for his bike because the new production facility was in Ukraine. Warren claimed that a few days later, he was called by the reporters to let him know that Putin had taken notice of the video after it went viral in Russia. At first, he thought their offer of a brand-new, $22,000 bike was a hoax, calling it “bats-t crazy,” as reported by the New York Post.However, the handover was arranged by Russian embassy workers less than 24 hours after Putin and Trump met. According to the claim, Warren was seen on camera accepting the motorcycle and testing it out.It’s day and night. Although I still enjoy my old one, this one is clearly superior. It’s so amazing that I can’t even speak. In the video, Warren remarked, “Thank you very much.”Founded in 1941 in Soviet Russia, Ural is a motorcycle manufacturer with its headquarters located in the state of Washington. Following the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, the corporation moved its operations to Kazakhstan, according to the New York Post.This is the second instance in which the Russian side has publicly shown its nostalgia for the Soviet Union. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was spotted sporting a white sweatshirt bearing the Russian acronym for the USSR, “CCCP,” the day before the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska.After the meeting in Alaska, President Putin praised Trump’s efforts to end the dispute. “The Ukrainian nation, and I have said it multiple times, is a brotherly nation; however strange it may sound in these conditions. We have the same roots, and everything that’s happening is a tragedy for us. And a terrible wound,” Putin remarked, highlighting the historical connections between Ukraine and Russia.
