Putin and Lukashenko called Pyak family
From time to time, strange news comes from the Finno-Ugric regions of the Russian Federation, one of which is undoubtedly the phone call between the Russian and Belarusian presidents to the Pyak family of Nenets reindeer herders.
Yenksya Pyak, the head of a Nenets family of eight children, could not understand who was calling at the beginning of the call: ‘I hear, I hear, who is calling?’. In reply, Putin’s voice said: ‘Everyone is your own people, your friends from the Kremlin are calling.’ In addition to Belarusian President Lukashenko, the call was also attended by Belarus’ first female cosmonaut, Marina Vasilevskaya, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky. 12 April has been Cosmonautics Day in Russia since Soviet times.
In his speech, Vladimir Putin congratulated the head of the family on the occasion of his upcoming golden wedding anniversary. In the conversation that followed, Putin said that family is the most important thing. He also promised to fulfil the dream of Yenksya Pyak’s granddaughter – to see the launch of a spaceship, a very powerful spectacle. In total, Yenksya and Zoya have ten grandchildren. As a gift from the President, the Pyak family received a hovercraft and a tea service. In return, they promised to give the president a reindeer calf.
Yenksya Pyak was introduced to Putin at the beginning of 2024, when the best families of the Russian Federation were honoured. The Pyak family had previously won the Russian Federation’s Family of the Year in the field of preserving traditions. During the meeting, Yenksya invited Putin to visit him on 12 April, as it is their 50th wedding anniversary. He also promised to take the president for a ride on three white reindeer. In reply, Putin promised to be sure to visit the family, but alas he only made a phone call.
