9 Rings for the Allies: Now Vladimir Putin Does LOTR Villain Sauron “Moral Compass and Genius”: Faithless Singer Maxi Jazz Died

The heads of state and government of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are currently meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, at an informal summit. The CIS includes the ten former Soviet states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The heads of state present received a special gift from Vladimir Putin. The Russian president presented each of the politicians with a gold ring with the symbol of the CIS countries, the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti reported. In addition, the jewelry should bear the inscriptions “Happy New Year 2023” and “Russia”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later clarified: it was a New Year’s souvenir, “nothing special”. Putin himself will not wear his own ring. According to Ria Novosti, all eight leaders accepted the gift – Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko was also photographed with the ring on his hand.

Did you mean symbolism?

The gesture caused social media amusement – whether it was intended by Putin or not, many were reminded of the nine rings of power from JJR Tolkien’s work “Lord of the Rings” and from the Amazon series “Rings of Power” that is adapted.

Based on this comparison, the symbolism is rather amusing: in Tolkien, nine human kings each receive a ring from the dark lord Sauron. In doing so, they first become powerful and immortal – but eventually become ringwraiths wholly subject to Sauron’s will.

The ex-Soviet states of the CIS meet regularly, although the community is considered partially divided. The heads of state and government of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Belarus were present in St. Petersburg – only one representative from Moldova was missing. (t-online, sje/con)