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

A pair of Russian comedians say they impersonated Russian President Vladimir Putin in a prank phone call to British singer Elton John, Russian media reported on Wednesday. Vladimir Krasnov and Aleksei Stolyarov, known in Russia for targeting celebrities and politicians with their audacious stunts, say they called the British singer a day after he told journalists he would like to meet Putin to discuss gay rights.

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 Elton John posted a photo of the Russian president on Instagram thanking him for 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. Krasnov and Stolyarov said part of the 11-minute call would be played on Russian television late on Wednesday, with a full recording released later.

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

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