Putin Stars as Evil King Herod in Ukrainian Nativity Play
Hundreds watched a staging of a traditional nativity play in western Ukraine Wednesday featuring a bizarre political twist -- with an actor in a President Vladimir Putin mask playing the murderous King Herod.
A group of Orthodox Christian performers staged the open-air nativity play in the city of Lviv that is a bastion of Ukrainian nationalism on Orthodox Christmas, celebrated according to the old-style Julian calendar on January 7 instead of December 25.
An actor wore a Putin mask and a crown to represent King Herod, who in the Bible account ordered the massacre of young children in Bethlehem after he heard of the birth of Jesus.
During the play, "King Putin" tried to steal Baby Jesus from the Virgin Mary and Joseph as they sat in a small stable with a real donkey.
But he was foiled by two young actors in combat fatigues, representing Ukrainian troops, who grabbed him and immobilized him with his hands behind his back.
The Putin character was then forced to sit outside the stable with three sheep.
Several hundred people squeezed in to watch the show, despite freezing temperatures of -10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit).
"Bravo!", "Well done!" audience members shouted.
Several teenagers threw snow balls at "Putin" before being chased away by adults. Some of the small children also tried to push the actor, who reacted with good humor.
Putin is "the Herod of the 21st century" said the actor playing the role, a student who gave his name only as Valentin.
Putin is condemned by most Ukrainians for the annexation of the Crimea peninsula in March last year and for supporting to pro-Russian separatists behind a bloody uprising in the country's east.
Source: Agence France Presse
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