Koni, Vladimir Putin’s Loyal Dog: The Pet Who Knew How to Calm Russia’s Strongman

Russian

President Vladimir Putin has arrived for a two-day visit to India, and of course he has been embraced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's warm hug ahead of the annual summit which is to be held by both countries. The time of Putin's arrival is crucial to look at. The president known for Dog Diplomacy arrives in India when the country's Supreme Court has recently issued directives on stray dogs, ordering nationwide removal from public spheres, and to be relocated to shelters, and not release back to original spots.

Putin who grew up in the post World War II Russia, comes from a "tough" environment, a childhood friend of his said in a previous interview with BBC. The siege of Leningrad killed his elder brother, while his parents barely survived. Seeing so much poverty around, bring brought up in a crowded communal flat, with shared kitchen and bathroom, may have lighten the compassion for the voiceless in him. Who knows? But what we do know is that in his hard times, he consults his loving dog Koni. She gives him "good advice", he once said in a CNN interview.

Putin is often seen with his furry friends, but some say it is not as much as love, as it is a political statement. Rightly named the 'dog diplomacy'. The president who is dogged-determined once turned down an Akita dog offer from Japan by Shinzo Abe. It was presented as a "bridegroom" to Yume, also gifted by Japan. However, no reason was given, though some speculate that the growing tension between the two countries have stemmed from a territorial dispute over a group of islands.

Burdett Loomis, a professor of political science at the University of Kansas, told the Washington Post that Putin's love for animals is a "great photo opportunity". Jan Kubik, the then-chair at the department of political science at Rutgers University told the Post that it is a political message: "I love animals. So, I am not such a heartless dictator, as Westerners tend to think. I have a heart, but my love is tough, manly."

It is, however, undeniable that his love for both small and big creatures are alike. Apart from dogs, he is a big horse enthusiast, and was once also captured holding a cat while inspecting reconstruction of house for people who had suffered from wildfires in the village of Krasnopolye.

A Dog Lover, And A Lover Dog

Koni was not just any pet, she was actually a bred as a search and rescue dog at a special center in Russia. She was president's favourite and would often be spotted tailing President Putin, soothing his bad mood. Koni also gained a major stardom in 2007, especially when Koni scared the then German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was scared of dogs. To this, Merkel told reporters, "I understand why he has to do this - to prove he is a man." Though Putin denied of any awareness about Merkel's fear.

Koni did more than spook world leaders. Before her death, Putin’s loyal black Labrador popped up in the news several times and became his most famous pet. In 2008, Reuters reported that Putin used a custom GPS collar on Koni to test Russia’s satellite tracking system, GLONASS. The following year, she grabbed headlines again after happily finishing off all the catered food meant for a United Russia party meeting, reported The Independent. And in the United States, Koni became a small diplomatic curiosity after Putin boasted to George W. Bush that his dog was “bigger, stronger, faster than Barney,” a remark Bush later said revealed a lot about Putin’s personality.

Koni was so well known in Russia that her death in 2014, at age 15, was announced in an official press release, as noted by Russia Life magazine. She even lives on in a children’s book published in 2005 called “Connie’s Stories.” The lighthearted 60 page book features a black Labrador and the presidential helicopter on the cover, and ends with a photo of Putin and Koni together.Three years after she died, Turkmenistan’s president gifted Putin a new puppy for his 65th birthday. The tiny alabai pup is a celebrated breed in Turkmenistan. In 2019, Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vučić, presented Putin with another dog, a fluffy Šarplaninac puppy, complete with a ceremonial handoff and plenty of admiration from onlookers.Koni was also survived by two of Putin’s other dogs: Yume, a Japanese Akita given in 2012 to thank Russia for its help after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and Buffy, a puppy from Bulgarian President Boyko Borisov, gifted in 2010.