Russia's Putin booed by over 22,000 martial arts fans

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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was greeted by catcalls when he steeped into the ring at a martial arts fight in Moscow.

Putin, a judo enthusiast, has long been an admirer of Russian heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter Fedor Emelianenko and came to see him take on American Jeff Monson.

After Emelianenko won, Putin stepped into the ring to congratulate him, but was loudly booed by many of the 22,000 fans at the Olympic stadium, the Guardian reports.

Russian Professional Boxing Federation spokesman Andrei Bazdrev said that Putin seemed taken aback by the negative reaction, but quickly regained his composure.

Speaking over the din, Putin praised Emelianenko as a “real Russian bogatyr”, a term for a medieval warrior.

Putin, who was president from 2000 to 2008, has announced plans to run for a third term in March.

Even though he is all but certain to win the election, he has been actively campaigning for months, eager to show that he remains strong and vigorous at 59.