Putin attracts Twitter flash mob

Moscow: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who celebrated his 59th birthday yesterday, caused a Twitter flash mob with a hashtag devoted to his birthday topping the world's trends.

The hashtag, which can be translated as "thank Putin for that," appeared early Friday when the pro-Kremlin United Russia party's member, Vladimir Burmatov, decided to congratulate the premier with the ironic tweet: "The summer hasn't left Moscow yet, thank Putin for that." "I wanted to make some fun on premier's birthday," Burmatov said in an interview with BBC Russian service. "I expected to play this game with my 30-something thousand readers. And it turned to attract broad masses of people."

"Have uncensored Internet? Thank Putin for that," Burmatov posted later, causing a wave of similar tweets. Since almost 50 per cent of Russian-speaking Twitterites are Muscovites in their late 20s and early 30s that are known for their staunch criticism of Putin, the birthday hashtag inspired them to stage a poetic flash mob that quickly turned into the marathon of sarcastic verses.

"Russia leaves the souls of poets dead, thank Putin for that," wrote one of the Twitter users, @IvanBerezov. "Have no money for the flat, thank Putin for that," posted @KatiKleine. Russian celebrities joined the game with several sharp tweets, reflecting the recent political events in the country.