News Makers

Putin target of spoof song

A spoof song which makes fun of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's hard-man image as the savior of Russia's battered economy has been winning fans on the Internet.

Public satire of Putin, who stepped down as president in 2008 to become prime minister, is rare. Putin last month forced factory owners in the town of Pikalyovo to reopen their plants after workers protested against unpaid wages.