If you have ever seen photos of Russian President Vladimir Putin holding in-person meetings with leaders of other nations, you will have noticed a bizarrely long table.
This infamous white table hit the headlines when Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron sat at opposite ends during talks in February.
Unsurprisingly, it has inspired countless memes – but, why exactly does Putin have such a long table?
Here’s what you need to know.
What does the table look like?
The table in question was manufactured by a small family firm in Italy that’s responsible for a high number of furnishings in the Kremlin.
The white table is pegged by Reuters to be 20 feet long (about six metres) and was constructed from beech wood and gold leaves.
It was made for the Kremlin around 25 years ago during a 1995-1997 contract when the Russian government wanted to redecorate the place.
Apparently, all the furniture pieces were produced in Italy then flown over to Russia where they were passed through giant scanners to check for spy equipment like listening devices.
The interior designer who built the infamous table, Renato Pologna, said in today’s money it would cost as much as €100,000 (£82,934).
Talking about it to Reuters, Pologna said: ‘The table is really the tip of the iceberg. In all, we provided furniture and fittings for around 70 rooms. Some of the other tables are even bigger.’
He added: ‘It was lovely to see photos of the table everywhere. Let’s hope it brings some luck and stops a war [in Ukraine].’
Why does Vladimir Putin have such a long table?
We are not sure what the exact reason for Vladimir Putin’s immensely long table is, but there are a couple of theories floating around.
The first of these theories suggests that the Russian President’s table serves ‘social distancing’ purposes.
The six-meter-long table is thought to be an efficient way to avoid infecting one another with Covid-19 during the meetings.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov appeared to confirm this theory after President Putin’s meeting at the table with Emmanuel Macron. He said that Putin chose to sit so far away to protect his health after Macron declined to take a Russian Covid-19 test.
However, the designer of the table has shot down the theory, explaining that the table was built over two decades before the pandemic. Thus, clarifying that the original reason behind the purchase had nothing to do with the coronavirus.
So, the table was definitely not bought with health reasons in mind, but in the pandemic era, it seems to be a perk the President can benefit from.
The second theory about the table suggested that the lengthy furniture piece was a negotiation tactic aimed to make Putin appear distant and intimidating.
Regardless of why the Kremlin has such a long table, one thing is for sure, it is visually striking.
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