Russian Presenter Says TV Pulled Show Over Putin Divorce Joke

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife, Lyudmila, have announced that they are to divorce.

A presenter at one of Russia's state television channels says the station has canceled a show over a joke about President Vladimir Putin's surprise divorce announcement.

Vladislav Sorokin, a presenter at Russia's state-run Public Television OTV, said on June 8 that his show, "The Social Network," was pulled over a comedy sketch about Putin putting up a profile on an online dating site after the divorce.

Sokorin wrote on social media website Facebook that he and his co-host Yekaterina Voronina planned to quit the show, which airs on weeknights.

OTV's Director-General Anatoly Lysenko has denied that the show has been pulled because of censorship.

Lysenko said, "It's all lies. Nothing was closed."

In a television appearance on June 6, Putin and his wife of 30 years, Lyudmila, announced that they were going to divorce.


Based on reporting by AFP and RIA Novosti