Moscow, Russia – As Vladimir Putin’s government continues to come under fire for the recent crackdown on homosexuality in Russia, the Russian president’s  lavish lifestyle is also gaining closer scrutiny.  In addition to private planes and yachts at his disposal, Putin has  20 palaces to spend time in at his beck and call.  One of these palaces is located in Lake Valdai  in the middle of the Valdai Hills in Novgorod Oblast, Russia.

Putin spent last weekend in this grandiose palace which has a cinema, two restaurants and bowling alley.  Eyewitness reports emanating from the palace’s staff of butlers and chambermaids confirmed that while vacationing at the palace, a surreal incident happened.  As Putin was preparing to retire for the evening, he heard some loud music coming from the palace’s cinema.  Putin immediately descended the spiral staircase across from his bedroom and entered the cinema which was located on the ground floor of the two-story south wing of the palace.

What Putin saw shocked him.  It was a film showing composer Peter Tchaikovsky conducting the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra was playing music from Swan Lake.  As the camera panned to a stage above the orchestra pit,  two male dancers were seen pirouetting and crisscrossing the breadth of the huge stage in what was obviously a scene depicting lovers.  Putin immediately recognized the dancers: an aging Vaslav Nijinsky and a young Rudolf Nureyev.  As the orchestra executed a loud crescendo, the two men kissed and a white transparent curtain quickly dropped in front of the dancers, followed by a text credit projected onto the curtain which read, “Choreographed by Serge Diaghilev.”

Putin, of course, knew that all the characters he saw on the cinema screen, incuding the choreographer, were among Russia’s famous homosexuals.  Eyewitnesses couldn’t tell whether Putin was bothered or amused by the homosexual ghosts.

There is no word from Putin or his press corps on whether this surreal experience would change his mind regarding his controversial policy on homosexuality in Russia.