When Putin met Reagan
In May 1988, President Ronald Reagan travelled to Moscow for his 4th summit with Mikhail Gorbachev. The Soviets prepared a grand welcome; buildings across from the Kremlin were repainted, streets repaved and trees and flowers planted along the boulevards. The president’s schedule included attending the Bolshoi Ballet, speaking to students at Moscow’s State University and visiting Danilov Monastery, while First Lady would tour Leningrad.
The visit was not without its own share of diplomatic incidents. The First Couple took an unscheduled walk through the Arbat, a Moscow shopping pedestrian street, when security police rushed in and roughed up a throng of onlookers, including children. “It’s still a police state,” Reagan was heard to say. When the president’s advance team asked the Russian Orthodox Church to pave the way to the Danilov Monastery so that the president could arrive in the limousine, a clergyman retorted that “One does not ride to see God. One walks either upon his feet or upon his knees.” Because he wore no ID badge, White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater was pursued by security personnel on his way to a Kremlin dinner. The president dozed off during the performance at the Bolshoi and Secretary Gorbachev had to wake him with a tap on the shoulder as the curtains were coming down.
The most telling incident was only revealed 20 years later. In the above photo, the man with the camera around his neck standing behind the boy was the current Russian Prime Minister (and former president) Vladimir Putin. He was pretending to be a tourist on his capacity as a KGB agent. On that day, on the Red Square, Gorbachev introduced Reagan to various tourists, who asked the American president pointed questions about subjects such as human rights in the United States. The photographer of this picture, Pete Souza, turned to the Secret Service and commented, “I can’t believe these tourists in the Soviet Union are asking these pointed questions.” The agent replied, “Oh, these are all KGB families.”
Pete Souza is the official chief White House photographer for Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama administrations. The Kremlin, however, had denied that it was Putin.
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When Putin met Reagan « Greg Strange
December 7, 2009 at 7:52 pm
it is indeed a rare and iconic image.
Deepak Acharya
December 8, 2009 at 4:35 am
It’s not Putin
CaypoH
December 8, 2009 at 5:08 am
I agree. I think the nose is too long.
Zip
December 8, 2009 at 6:23 am
Putin is better looking than that guy.
Ralph
February 3, 2011 at 9:48 am
Putin was in DDR in 1988
vassily
December 8, 2009 at 9:47 am
[...] 原文及版权http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2009/12/07/when-putin-met-reagan/ [...]
当普京遇上里根-1988历史纪实 | 3秒 (3seconds.cn)
December 8, 2009 at 12:13 pm
[...] When Putin met Reagan In May 1988, President Ronald Reagan travelled to Moscow for his 4th summit with Mikhail Gorbachev. The Soviets [...] [...]
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December 9, 2009 at 12:13 am
hmm… yea, looking at a picture of Putin’s profile in Google images, the nose in this picture does look a bit too long and pointy and the earlobe looks a bit longer too…. who knows! interesting story nonetheless!
jenn
December 9, 2009 at 12:18 am
That is Nitup, Putin’s non-evil twin.
Ralph
February 3, 2011 at 9:51 am
LOVE your comment
wanderlust
July 31, 2011 at 6:05 am
possibly putin in his capacity as a kgb agent had to undergo face-changing plastic surgeries quite a few times since this pic was taken
wanderlust
July 31, 2011 at 6:07 am
[...] KGB Agent Vladimir Putin pretending to be a tourist in order to meet [...]
December 07, 1941 « trente-sept's blog
December 9, 2009 at 1:49 am
Putin was born 7 October 1952. In the 1988 he has at least 36 years. This is fake.
Serge
December 9, 2009 at 10:13 am
seems that this little boy is Medvyedyev?
m
December 9, 2009 at 1:56 pm
[...] Unidos, como percebeu Pete Souza, o fotógrafo que registrou a imagem acima, pinçada pelo blog Iconic Photos. Ao comentar isso com um agente que os acompanhava, este revelou que aquelas pessoas “eram [...]
O dia em que Vladimir Putin encontrou Ronald Reagan - Trabalho Sujo - OESQUEMA
December 10, 2009 at 11:08 am
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ReloFreetlE
December 11, 2009 at 5:54 am
Only Reagan’s tie isn’t from KGB on this image although it looks like made 60% from microfiber and 40% from microfilm
Bulgarian boy
December 11, 2009 at 6:59 am
Some People Confused, Admin not talking about Boy,its a man behing him having Camera aroung his neck.But it doubtful that Man is Putin.Celebrities | Nature
Sunl
December 13, 2009 at 2:39 am
I don’t think that’s Putin. I’ve seen a lot of photos and video of Putin, and this man looks quite different. There’s a photo here of what Putin looked like in the ’80s: http://bit.ly/8tcQAf. Also, I believe Putin is shorter than the man pictured here.
Todd
December 15, 2009 at 1:32 pm
[...] Photos: When Putin met Reagan (December 7, [...]
Shared Items for the week of December 12, 2009* | Andrew Ferguson
December 18, 2009 at 9:05 pm
[...] Quintessential on Iconic Photos When Putin Met Reagan “In the above photo, the man with the camera around his neck standing behind the boy was the [...]
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December 20, 2009 at 7:52 pm
[...] From Iconic Photos: [...]
THE LITTLE-KNOWN REAGAN-PUTIN SUMMIT - The Public Interest : WTVC NewsChannel 9: Chattanooga News, Weather, Radar, Sports, Lottery
December 29, 2009 at 6:51 pm
I think the little boy in the picture is from KGB, too. Look his hand. Is not a normal hand…
RFF
February 16, 2010 at 12:06 pm
I doubt that is Putin. Putin has a short chin and his nose is not sharp and has more of a swoop or a deeper bridge. This picture is of a younger vladimir and his hairline is still weak, and the hair is thin. The man in the picture you have has thick hair.
http://blog.pkp.in/2008/02/young-vladimir-putin-pictures.html
KMansfield
May 9, 2010 at 3:52 am
Please, correct or remove this article, as this is definitely not V. Putin, who as it had already been said, had been stationed in Germany up until the fall of the Soviet Union, and doesn’t even remotely resemble current Russian PM.
Though even if true, this wouldn’t be much of a sensation, still, story title looks like it would suit a supermarket tabloid, not a website dedicated to iconic photos.
I originally loved your blog, but once I found this controversial entry, I started questioning your commentaries to all the other images. Perhaps they’re as wrong as this one.
sp
July 27, 2010 at 10:06 am
life is changing
amarat
February 3, 2011 at 3:03 pm
WYKOP KURWA
m__b
February 3, 2011 at 9:30 pm
Why are all these people claiming to know exactly what Putin looked like and where he was on that day, at this time?
ruth b
February 4, 2011 at 10:05 pm
[...] were mostly KGB agents posing as tourists.The man with the camera around his neck is Vladimir Putin.From Iconic Photos.Related postsVladimir Putin to teach Nicolas Sarkozy JudoPutin puts out firesDid Reagan Try to [...]
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February 7, 2011 at 12:18 am
[...] When Putin met Reagan В« Iconic Photos Dec 7, 2009 … In May 1988, President Ronald Reagan travelled to …. seems that this little boy is Medvyedyev? … [...]
Benefactor » Blog Archive » Pictures of ronald reagan as a child
September 21, 2011 at 4:09 am