Vladimir Putin’s top diplomat, Sergei Lavrov, appeared to take a swipe at Donald Trump with his choice of dress as he touched down in Alaska on Friday.
Reporters filmed the Russian foreign minister wearing a sweater emblazoned with the inscription “CCCP,” the Cyrillic abbreviation for USSR, as he arrived at a hotel in Alaska, where Putin is set to hold talks with Trump to hash out how to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.
Lavrov has arrived for the meeting in a shirt that says СССР (USSR). https://t.co/D5yrC2MFhD pic.twitter.com/h5HYuvTrob
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 15, 2025
The Daily Beast has contacted Russia’s Foreign Ministry and the White House for comment.
Alaska was part of the Russian Empire until 1867, when the United States purchased it for $7.2 million under President Andrew Johnson. It gained the status of a state on Jan. 3, 1959. At their closest point, Alaska and Russia are positioned about 53 miles apart.
Kremlin propagandists have floated seizing Alaska throughout the Ukraine war. Lavrov’s wardrobe choice appeared to nod to those fantasies.
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