Russia's Medvedev meets Deep Purple
Posted  | Comment  | Recommend E-mail | Save | Print |
MOSCOW (AP) — The man expected to become Russia's next president smiled happily as he posed for a picture with Deep Purple in the Kremlin on Monday and recalled the times when he first listened to the English rock band.

Dmitry Medvedev, a first deputy prime minister who seems certain to win the March 2 presidential vote, was shown by NTV television posing with Deep Purple in the Kremlin where they performed at a concert marking the 15th anniversary of Gazprom state natural gas monopoly. Medvedev also serves as Gazprom chairman.

"I couldn't imagine that," Medvedev said in televised remarks. "I was 13 or 14 when I first listened to Deep Purple, and such music was forbidden then," he said referring to Soviet-era ideological taboos which prevented the sales of albums of Western hard rock stars.

Deep Purple, formed in 1968 in Britain, were one of the pioneers of hard rock. The band, which has gone through numerous lineup changes, has sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

Medvedev, whose image of a somewhat bookish lawyer is belied by his music taste, once boasted of owning the complete collection of Deep Purple in original vinyl records.

"It would be completely surreal to imagine that I would meet this legendary band in the Kremlin, but it happened," Medvedev said with a broad smile.

Medvedev has been anointed by President Vladimir Putin as his preferred successor, and his victory in the election is seen as all but a foregone conclusion thanks to Putin's broad popularity and the Kremlin's control over media and political landscape.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Posted
E-mail | Save | Print |
Russian First Deputy Prime Minister and Gazprom Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, center, and Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, second from right, pose with members of heavy-metal band Deep Purple, after their concert to mark the state-controlled natural gas giant OAO Gazprom's 15th anniversary in the State Kremlin Palace, Moscow, Monday, Feb. 11, 2008. Russia's state-controlled gas supplier Gazprom on Monday gave neighboring Ukraine a reprieve of a few hours in a debt dispute, but still said it would stop sending gas to the country of 47 million if an agreement isn't reached. (AP Photo/Dmitry Astakhov, Pool)
 Enlarge by DMITRY ASTAKHOV, AP
Russian First Deputy Prime Minister and Gazprom Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, center, and Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, second from right, pose with members of heavy-metal band Deep Purple, after their concert to mark the state-controlled natural gas giant OAO Gazprom's 15th anniversary in the State Kremlin Palace, Moscow, Monday, Feb. 11, 2008. Russia's state-controlled gas supplier Gazprom on Monday gave neighboring Ukraine a reprieve of a few hours in a debt dispute, but still said it would stop sending gas to the country of 47 million if an agreement isn't reached. (AP Photo/Dmitry Astakhov, Pool)