President Dmitry Medvedev was audience to the cream of the crop of Russian comedy – the presenters of the popular show Comedi Club at his suburban residence outside Moscow.
A delegation of nine comedians paid a visit to the presidential residence on Friday afternoon. The meeting kicked off with the comedy ensemble presenting President Medvedev with an iPad-2. The Russian president, who is known for his use of social media technologies, said promised to take the handheld computer on foreign trips in order to watch the latest Comedi Club programs.
The comedians said they would be happy to participate in such trips, which drew laughter from the Russian leader.
Medvedev inquired about the work of the comedians, and one of the guests said that the amount of criticism towards them had in fact increased. Other comedians promised to make their jokes better, as well as refer to more pressing social issues in their shows.
The group sang several songs, one about how hard it is to be the President of Russia. Medvedev requested that they download the music into his tablet computer.
The president, however, turned down a request to sing something, saying that he preferred more complicated genres than pop music, which also drew a round of laughter.
The comedians then put on a brief sketch about Russian lessons in a US school.