A foreign journalist questioning Russian President Vladimir Putin was likely misidentified as drunk by news outlets, which later corrected the mistake.
During Putin’s annual hours-long press conference Thursday, Putin called on one journalist who said he was from a newspaper in Kirov, a place in Russia.
The journalist began to ask what he called a “trivial question,” seeming to slur his words.
“Oh, I see you’ve taken something already,” teased Putin to laughter from the other reporters.
The question was related to the availability of kvass, a popular Russian drink.
The Kremlin-funded Russia Today news network live-tweeted the event and wrote, “Apparently drunk journalist asks #Putin about drink – ‘You’ve already had yours’ quips President.”
British news publication The Telegraph also wrote, “An apparently drunk journalist asks why he can’t get kvas [sic] – a Russian drink – in his local supermarket.”
Later, however, both outlets amended their reports. “Correction: Kirov journo who asked #Putin about #Kvas NOT drunk – survived multiple strokes,” read a follow-up tweet by Russia Today.
“[I]t now appears he may have slurred his words because he once suffered a stroke,” said a summary of the live blog at The Telegraph.
Above, the moment from the press conference can be seen at the 2:59:00 mark.
