Schwarzenegger likes his busts from Russia

[Blue_Tires]

We all know Arnold Schwarzenegger as a movie star, famous politician and bodybuilder, but the California governor has also a Russian flavor to his art collection. Among his possessions are some quite unexpected things.

Yahoo StumbleUpon Google Live Technorati del.icio.us Digg Reddit Mixx Propeller St. Petersburg bronze caster Aleksandr Chernoshchekov is preparing to send his bronze sculpture across the Atlantic to none other than California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“Schwarzenegger is very popular in Russia, many kids don’t know the US President’s name, but they for sure know Schwarzenegger. I felt the same, and when I realized there was an opportunity to make a connection with Schwarzenegger via a friend, I seized the opportunity,” Chernoshchekov says.


In fact, Chernoshchekov has for years been sending Arnie old Soviet leaders, hand delivered by Russian bodybuilding teams. The first was the Soviet founder.

“He liked Lenin's bust very much, and later in a letter he wrote that this bust always gives him a charge of energy, so he keeps it in his office rather than in the museum. Since then, we presented him every year with busts of Stalin, Gorbachev, Yeltsin, all key political leaders,” Vladimir Dubinin, President of the Russian Bodybuilding Federation, says.

It has been a pleasure for him to do it Chernoshchekov says, though it has also been tough for him to get Putin's features right.

“It’s very challenging work. A few artists tried and failed. I accepted only this piece, I like it. Mr. Putin looks very good here,” Dubinin observes.

http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-05-04/schwarzenegger-busts-russia-putin.html
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True or not; it's worth posting for the headline alone...

[NewJeffCT]

1. Imagine if a Democrat has been collecting Russian/Soviet memorabilia?

The media would go crazy in calling him or her a secret commie.

[Blue_Tires]

2. kick