“YOU’RE IN pretty good physical shape. How do you manage to keep yourself so fit?” So began one of the potentially great political interviews of our time, as Naomi Campbell grilled Vladimir Putin in what could have been a 21st century Frost-Nixon moment.
Given the opportunity to question the Russian prime minister for GQmagazine, model and reluctant Hague witness Campbell refused to duck the key issues, interrogating Putin about his physical prowess, the "great impression" he makes on women, and his swimming ability.
Building on the success of a 2008 interview with the Venezualan leader Hugo Chavez – "Do you know the Spice Girls?" was one line of inquiry – Campbell resumed the role of inquisitor for a Q&A with Putin, which was published by GQyesterday.
The Russian prime minister played Campbell’s first question with a straight bat, answering that he kept fit “probably the same way you do” and allowing her to reveal the secrets of her own health.
“Actually, I don’t work out as much as I should, but I do believe that it’s a healthy mind as well as a healthy body that keeps me fit, sound and calm,” she revealed. Putin, for the record, goes to the gym and swims daily.
Campbell, who last year gave evidence in the trial of the former Liberian president Charles Taylor, accused of 11 counts of war crimes – her first words to the judge were “I want to get this over and done with . . . this is a big inconvenience for me” – was soon on to the juiciest topics. “You obviously make a great impression on women. How do you feel about the students who posed for you?” she asked, referring to a calendar made by female students at Moscow University to mark Putin’s 58th birthday.
“I like the girls a lot. They’re beautiful,” he said, describing them as “courageous and not scared” in their decision to publicly support him.
Putin and Campbell also share an interest in Russian oligarchs. The model has been dating the billionaire Vladislav Doronin for more than two years. Campbell lives with Doronin in Moscow, but showed little knowledge of current affairs in her adopted country, neglecting to ask Putin about the oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was on trial at the time for theft and money laundering, but whose supporters allege is the victim of a Kremlin-orchestrated campaign against him in revenge for his support for opposition politicians.
The model also remained silent about Natalia Estemirova, the human rights campaigner murdered in Chechnya 18 months ago and who was allegedly targeted because of her work.
Putin very rarely grants an audience to journalists. He prefers talking to favoured pro-Kremlin academics who live outside the country rather than foreign correspondents based in Moscow. Although encounters with Putin often seem spontaneous, all questions are carefully vetted in advance.
Campbell and Putin met in November at the world’s first tiger summit in St Petersburg, where donors pledged hundreds of millions of dollars towards doubling the number of wild tigers by 2022.
She asked Putin – a black belt in judo who has been known to attend mixed martial arts fights – whether he had ever been in a bare-knuckle scrap, prompting one of the more bizarre exchanges of a bizarre interview.
“No, it’s not my sport. Since I was 14, I’ve done judo,” he said. “But the bare-knuckle fight I attended was very impressive. These guys are tough. I watched the Russian, French and British teams . . . every one of these athletes deserves great credit. There are even women who do it.”
“Big women?” asked Campbell. “Not big, just strong women,” Putin explained.
“I’d like to see one of those,” the model mused. Some might feel they would have liked to have seen one posing the questions. – (Guardian service)