Candle in the wind up: Russian pranksters behind Putin hoax call to Elton John

A pair of Russian comedians say they impersonated Russian President Vladimir Putin in a prank phone call to Sirr Elton John. Vladimir Krasnov and Aleksei Stolyarov, known in Russia for targeting celebrities and politicians with their audacious stunts, say they called the singer a day after he told journalists he would like to meet Putin to discuss gay rights. In a recording published online, Sir Elton is heard to say a meeting between he and Putin in November would be fantastic and he said he would attend a gay pride march in Moscow.

Yes, it was us. I was ‘Vladimir Putin’…He (Elton John) said: 'Thank you, you’ve made my day. This day and conversation have been the most remarkable and splendid of my life’.

Vladimir Krasnov

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied on Tuesday that Putin had made the call and suggested it could have been a prank after Sir Elton posted a photo of the Russian president on Instagram thanking him for the conversation. Krasnov and Stolyarov, better known as Vova and Lexus, claimed it had been easy to get in touch with Sir Elton, 68. They said he was “waiting for that call, so immediately believed in the reality” of the conversation. Russia has been criticized by the West and human rights activists for its treatment of gay people and Elton John has campaigned publicly against a 2013 law banning the dissemination of “gay propaganda” among young people.

He is quite a respected and well-liked performer here. It probably was not a very good thing to trick him like this.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov

Odd News Elton John