Putin celebrated his 50th birthday at the state-owned Cricova Winery, which is located 9 miles north of Moldova’s capital, Chișinău.
Moldova’s former president gave Putin a collection of wines during the visit. They were added to an exhibition of famous former visitors, along with a picture of the Russian leader.
However, they have now been banished. After Russia invaded Ukraine, ‘we got lots of questions that we could not answer about why he was still here,’ winery director Sorin Maslo told The New York Times.
The bottles have not yet been destroyed. Instead, they have been moved to a dark, sealed-off area of the winery so that ‘nobody has to deal with him,’ Maslo added.
Cricova’s display features pictures of famous visitors such as Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky, former German chancellor Angela Merkel and former US Secretary of State John Kerry. Other famous faces include Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space.
Hermann Goering, Hitler’s right-hand man, is still featured prominently on the display. His presence highlights just how bad your reputation must be before you are axed from this exhibition.
Putin’s snub also reflects the strained relationship between Moldova and Russia. Moldova was a major supplier of wine to Russia until 2013. Moscow then imposed an embargo on Moldovan wine after the country signalled its ambition to join the EU.
Last year, Kremlin officials threatened Moldova with a ‘military scenario’ in the breakaway Transnistria region, which is controlled by Russian-backed separatists.
In October, Moldovan voters approved a change to the country’s constitution, which moves Moldova out of Moscow’s sphere of influence and aligns it more closely with the EU.
Removing Putin’s wines from the display is a symbolic gesture from Moldova. Cricova is the country’s second-largest wine cellar, with 75 miles of labyrinthine roadways under the winery. Half of the roadways in this underground ‘wine city’ are used for wine storage.
