Russia’s finance minister, Alexey Kudrin, was caught putting his stomach before matters of state.
Cameras filmed him replying to a text from his wife Irina during Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s conference in Minsk.
Irina had texted him to tell him she was sorry to hear he would be home late. She wanted to know what she should do with the dinner – put it in the fridge or keep it warm.
Attending to family duties does not appear to hamper Kudrin’s ministerial abilities. Euromoney magazine named him the world’s best finance minister in 2010.
This is not the first time that Russian officials have been caught texting while performing their state duties.
In August 2010, the governor of Kirov region was caught tweeting in the middle of a State Council session led by President Dmitry Medvedev himself.
“Mr. Belykh is posting something on his Twitter page right now, during the State Council session, as if he has nothing else to do,” the president said during the meeting.
In another incident, the governor of Tver region, Dmitry Zelenin, livened an official presidential dinner by posting a picture of his plate to his Twitter account. It showed a worm wiggling its way across the salad leaves.
“Things happen,” said Zelenin in the post. “Even in Alexander Hall, with your veal you get served salad with live worms.”