Russians were surprised.

• Position: President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin appeared on a comedy show - NEWS & TRENDS - Brief article

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RUSSIANS WERE SURPRISED on New Year's Eve when 3-D animations of their leaders--President Dmitri Medvedev (left) and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin--appeared on a comedy show, Mult Lichnosti, on Russia's top TV station. Before the Soviet Union fell in 1991, anyone criticizing the government might have been sent to Siberia--or worse. Much has changed since then, but criticizing, or even poking fun at, political readers can still be risky. That's why seeing Putin and Medvedev dancing in Moscow's Red Square raised hopes that "the ability to joke...