Vladimir Putin, the current president of Russia, has owned many dogs over time. His fondness of dogs has led to dogs becoming a notable political gift in Russian diplomatic relations.[1][2]
Konni (1999–2014) was a female black Labrador Retriever. Konni was born in 1999 and presented to Putin in December 2000. Konni was often seen at Putin's side, and was sometimes allowed to attend meetings when he greeted world leaders during visits to Russia.
During a meeting with Angela Merkel, German Chancellor at the time, in 2007 in Putin's home in Sochi, Konni attended the meeting. Merkel, who was bitten by a dog in 1995, was seen freezing up as Konni sniffed her. Merkel later stated of the incident that: "He's afraid of his own weakness. Russia has nothing, no successful politics or economy. All they have is this."[4] Putin himself said in 2016 to the German newspaper Bild, that he had no intention of scaring Merkel and that he had apologized to her.[5]
Putin was being updated on the progress of the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) in 2007 when he inquired whether he would be able to buy a device hooked into GLONASS that would allow him to keep track of his dog, Konni. The collar was demonstrated on Konni on 17 October 2008, thus making Konni the first recipient of a GLONASS-enabled pet collar.[6][7]
Buffy, a caramel and white Bulgarian male 10-week-old shepherd Karakachan dog, was given to President Vladimir Putin during a visit to Bulgaria in November 2010 by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.[8][9] The name 'Buffy' was chosen by a five-year-old boy during a nationwide competition.[10]
Verni was a 65th birthday gift from Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, President of Turkmenistan, during a meeting in Sochi in October 2017. The puppy is an Alabai, a top Turkmen-bred variety of the Central Asia
shepherd dog. 'Verni' means 'faithful' or 'loyal' in Russian.[16]
Two seemingly adult dogs of the North Korean Pungsan breed were given to Vladimir Putin by Kim Jun Un on a visit Putin made to Pyongyang in June 2024.[19]
^"Сколько собак у Путина?" [How many dogs does Putin have?]. aif.ru (in Russian). 23 October 2017. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
