Medvedev laughs at himself

The election may be a serious affair, but a healthy dose of humour never hurt anyone. Politics has always been a favourite topic for jokes among Russians. And frontrunner Dmitry Medvedev was the star of the show on one of the country's most famous comedy shows.

The KVN show that started in Soviet times now airs on Russia's main channel and features university teams from Russia and the CIS, which compete in comedy sketches.

It was Medvedev’s final public appearance before the election and he was the subject of most of the jokes. But the candidate had no trouble laughing at himself.

Presidential candidate Andrey Bogdanov was also among the hits. Although running far behind in opinion polls, he was still hoping to get 20 per cent of the vote.

One of the sketches featured Winnie the Pooh, showing Bogdanov's was a case where illusions and politics met. The bear went to vote for Bogadanov because he thinks that “imaginary characters should support each other”.

But it was still Medvedev who took centre stage.