Vladimir Putin's most precious possession - a cross given to him by his mother

          

Putin: 'It was meant to be' 

A YEAR and a day after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a Grimsby News reader has submitted a piece of information which offers an unexpected insight into Putin's personality.

Apparently, he has his own private chapel, and his most precious personal possession is a cross, given to him by his mother, which he had blessed in Jerusalem.

When his country retreat outside Moscow was badly damaged by fire, his main concern was the fate of that cross.

Imagine his relief and delight, therefore, when a firefighter unfolded his hand to reveal the cross.

The story is told in his book, Decision Points, by George W. Bush  who asked Putin  how he responded.

His reply was telling. "It was as if it was meant to be."  

Over his eight years as president, Bush met Putin more than 40 times, and they were on first name terms.

He writes: "He was sometimes cocky, sometimes charming, always tough.

"My wife, Laura, and I  had wonderful visits with him and his wife, Lyudmila (they divorced in 2013), at our home in Crawford and his dacha outside Moscow where he let me drive his classic 1956 Volga.

Apparently Putin was unimpressed with the Bush family's Scottish terrier, Barney, comparing him unfavourably to his own black labrador, Koni.

Bush continues: "Putin is a proud man who loves his country.

"He wants Russia to have the stature of a great power again and was driven to expand Russia's spheres of influence

"He intimidated democracies on his borders and used energy as an economic weapon by cutting off natural gas to parts of Eastern Europe.

"Putin liked power and the Russian people liked him."

Decision Points was published in the UK by Virgin Books in November 2010.