Near kiss riles Putin

When a priest tried to kiss Valdimir Putin’s during a visit to the Russian Geographical Society, Putin reacted angrily and shook his fist at the priest.

A video shows Putin shaking hands with several delegates when a priest bent down to kiss the leader’s hand, which was filmed by RT Russian and uploaded on Monday.

The meeting was at Valaam monastery on Lake Ladoga. Putin is head of the society’s supervisory board.

“We have this tradition in the Balkans of always honoring your superiors, and I always kiss the hands of parents, grandparents and so forth as a sign of love and respect,” the priest told the Moscow Times.

Action happens at the 30 second mark. The video has gone viral with over 600,000 views.

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