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Serbian museum puts Putin’s wax figure on view

BELGRADE, March 23 /TASS/. A wax figure of Russian President Vladimir Putin was added to the exposition of the Museum of Wax Figures in the city of Jagodina, Serbia, on Wednesday.

Dragana Markovic, the speaker of the city legislature (Skupstina), said that Vladimir Putin was the holder of top awards of the Serbian state and the Serbian Orthodox Church. He is also the honorary citizen of 11 Serbian cities.

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"We decided to install Putin’s wax figure in a sign of gratitude to him, Russia and Russian diplomats for their support of Serbia at the United Nations and UNESCO when the resolution on Srebrenica and the admission of Kosovo to UNESCO were discussed; Russia has also been calling for consistent implementation of UN Resolution 1244 on Kosovo," Markovic said.

Belgrade sculptors Zoran Ivanovic and Branislav Crvenkovic had carved Putin’s wax statue, which, according to Markovic, is of a very good quality.

Serbia’s only Museum of Wax Figures opened in Jagodina in 2006. Its exposition features 30 wax figures of prominent historical, cultural, religious, political and sports figures of Serbia and the former Yugoslavia, including Czar Lazar; Vuk Karadzic, Serbian linguist and enlightner from the 19th century; writer Ivo Andric, the Nobel Prize winner; the former Yugoslav leaders Josip Broz Tito; Slobodan Milosevic and Zoran Dzindzic; scientist and inventor Nikola Tesla; Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Pavel and tennis player Novak Djokovic.

More than 400,000 tourists from all parts of Serbia visited the museum located in the city tourist center visited last year, Markovic stressed.

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