Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was sworn in today for his fifth term in office, has been accused of cutting a deer’s heart out and feeding it to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Expressreported.
A former senator and close friend of the late Italian PM, Fabrizio Cicchitto, revealed in an interview that the incident occurred in 2013 when both leaders went on a hunting trip to one of Putin’s dachas.
He said: "Vladimir showed a violent nature that I didn’t imagine could exist in such a kind and rational man."
Cicchitto claimed that Berlusconi considered the Russian president a close friend, which is why he went with him hunting, even though he had never held a gun or rifle before.
Narrating the incident, Cicchitto said that upon spotting a deer, Putin supposedly told Berlusconi: "That's yours. Shoot."
However, Berlusconi refused to shoot, so Putin killed the deer. He then cut out the heart of one of the deer and had one of his staff give it to Berlusconi on a tray as a meal.
This is not the first time Putin has done something like this; as per reports, the "Kremlin boss" has a thing for pulling psychological tricks to intimidate other leaders.
Putin once brought a black Labrador to a meeting with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had a well-documented fear of dogs.