"Do you still have Obama in your country?" Check out how much "Brother Putin" (on the right) resembles the real Putin (on the left).
As the female lead of the TV series My Natasha, Elisa had no idea who the mysterious guest would be at the event. Before the premiere of the show, the makeup artist kept exclaiming while applying makeup to China's "Brother Putin," "He looks so much like him!" Originally, they wanted to modify or dye his hair, but it turned out to be unnecessary as China's "Brother Putin" already had a very similar hairstyle to Putin.
Report by reporter Zhang Xiaozhe: Recently, Anhui province has produced a "Brother Putin" whose appearance, height, and hairstyle are extremely similar to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Yesterday, during the premiere of Shandong TV's New Year drama My Natasha, the sudden appearance of "Brother Putin" caused Russian female lead Elisa to repeatedly exclaim, "My God, my God..." After she calmed down, she couldn't help but remark, "You Chinese have everything! Do you have an Obama too?"
Because of his resemblance to an international political star, Luo Yuanping even received an invitation from a PR company to attend an event in Beijing, with the PR company promising 5000 yuan as appearance fee to "Brother Putin" Luo Yuanping.
"Brother Putin" is actually a Chinese farmer, but his current domestic fame in China is far less than his international fame. Due to his striking resemblance to former Russian President and current Prime Minister Putin, he was dubbed "China's Brother Putin" by foreign media. He is a villager from Longchui Village in Anhui Province, named Luo Yuanping, 48 years old, and unmarried. Not only does he look extremely similar to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, but more surprisingly, Luo Yuanping is 174 cm tall, similar to Putin, and his hairstyle also closely resembles Putin's. The local media coverage in Anhui caught the attention of Phoenix Television, which then drew the interest of international media. The UK's Daily Telegraph even published an article titled "Vladimir Putin's Twin Brother in China?!" and jokingly suggested that if Putin were ever too busy to attend two meetings at once, "perhaps he could ask his Chinese twin brother for help." Luo Yuanping gained some international recognition, and a Hunan-based company specially invited him to care for elderly people who greatly admire this "Brother Putin."
Before "Brother Putin" from China made his appearance, the host started asking Elisa to guess who the mystery guest might be, giving her a hint that it was an international celebrity. Elisa furrowed her brows and hesitated before guessing, "Jackie Chan?" The host gave another clue, "He's not Chinese, but Russian." The obedient Elisa immediately pointed to the male actor Andrei beside her. Seeing that Elisa was completely off track, the host revealed the answer, opening the door. Two bodyguards escorted Luo Yuanping into the scene, causing both Elisa and Andrei to exclaim in unison. Elisa covered her mouth and whispered, "My goodness, I'm so scared." She quickly shifted her gaze and kept repeating, "I'm really scared, my heart is about to jump out."
The appearance of "Brother Putin" caused Elisa to exclaim repeatedly.
Our villagers often see the former Russian president Putin on TV, and when they look at Luo Yuanping in the village, they feel they really resemble each other,” said one neighbor of Luo Yuanping. Over time, when villagers see Luo Yuanping, those who love to joke call him directly “Putin.” “Even some returning university students call him ‘Brother Putin.’”
“Brother Putin” said: “I am a Chinese farmer.”