Vladimir Putin Relates to Russian Youth 
 
 In what one Moscow newspaper called "a desperate move" to appeal to Russia's youth, Vladimir Putin presented an award on a music channel this weekend and kind of made a fool of himself. Doing his best to look cool, in a turtleneck and windbreaker, Putin warned his young friends about the hazards of drugs and vodka. Then he weighed in on some pressing issues of the day: 
 
 "Rap, even urban rap and street rap, is kind of crude, but is already filled with social content and addresses the problems of youth. Graffiti is becoming a real art form - refined and polished. Break dancing is something completely unique." 
 
 So, that's how the Russian president prime minister feels about hip-hop, graffiti and break dancing. You were wondering, right? 
 
 Vladimir Putin turns to rap and break-dancing [Telegraph] ||||| Mr Putin's surprise appearance on a music channel to hand out awards came as a shock even to the journalists his minders handpick to follow him around not to mention the audience of baseball cap-wearing adolescents. 
 
 Dressed in a polo-neck jumper and a sports jacket, Mr Putin, 57, looked distinctly awkward among a crowd of head-bobbing hand-waving teenagers. As the crowd around him writhed to a noisy rap song, he stood motionless with his hands stiffly at his sides while his security detail mingled among the audience "in youth disguise". 
 
 Mr Putin then took to the stage himself and spoke out against drugs and vodka, doing his best to show he knew about what he called "mass youth culture". " 
 
 Rap, even urban rap and street rap, is kind of crude, but is already filled with social content and addresses the problems of youth," he told an open-mouthed audience. "Graffiti is becoming a real art form – refined and polished. Break dancing is something completely unique." 
 
 One rapper later called an embarrassed looking Mr Putin "a legend and our idol," saying he dreamed of performing a rap duet with the Russian strongman. But the outing did not garner Mr Putin his usual rave reviews. ||||| Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, attends a high-tech forum for youth in Yaroslavl, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018. Putin said that Russia has a big potential for the development of high-tech... (Associated Press) 
 
 Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, attends a high-tech forum for youth in Yaroslavl, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018. Putin said that Russia has a big potential for the development of high-tech industries. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) (Associated Press) 
 
 Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, attends a high-tech forum for youth in Yaroslavl, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018. Putin said that Russia has a big potential for the development of high-tech industries. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) (Associated Press) Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, attends a high-tech forum for youth in Yaroslavl, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018. Putin said that Russia has a big potential for the development of high-tech... (Associated Press) 
 
 MOSCOW (AP) — Alarmed by the growing popularity of rap among Russian youth, President Vladimir Putin wants cultural leaders to devise a means of controlling, rather than banning, the popular music. 
 
 Putin says "if it is impossible to stop, then we must lead it and direct it." 
 
 But Putin said at a St. Petersburg meeting with cultural advisers Saturday that attempts to ban artists from performing will have an adverse effect and bolster their popularity. 
 
 Putin noted that "rap is based on three pillars: sex, drugs and protest." But he is particularly concerned with drug themes prevalent in rap, saying "this is a path to the degradation of the nation." 
 
 He said "drug propaganda" is worse than cursing. 
 
 Putin's comments come amid a crackdown on contemporary music that evoked Soviet-era censorship of the arts. 
 
 Last month, a rapper known as Husky, whose videos have garnered more than 6 million views on YouTube, was arrested after he staged an impromptu performance when his show was shut down in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar. 
 
 The 25-year-old rapper, known for his lyrics about poverty, corruption and police brutality, was preparing to take to the stage on Nov. 21 when local prosecutors warned the venue that his act had elements of what they termed "extremism." 
 
 Husky climbed onto a car, surrounded by hundreds of fans, and chanted "I will sing my music, the most honest music!" before he was taken away by police. 
 
 On Nov. 30, rapper Gone.Fludd announced two concert cancellations, citing pressure from "every police agency you can imagine," while the popular hip hop artist Allj cancelled his show in the Arctic city of Yakutsk after receiving threats of violence. 
 
 Other artists have been affected as well — pop sensation Monetochka and punk band Friendzona were among those who had their concerts shut down by the authorities last month. 
 
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 This story has corrected the location of the meeting to St. Petersburg, not the Kremlin. 
 
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 Francesca Ebel in Moscow contributed.
– While it would have been infinitely more entertaining had Vladimir Putin actually tried to freestyle, his appearance at a music awards show this weekend still made newspapers titter. Putin, who first stood around looking awkward while his “youth disguised” security mingled with the dancing crowd, handed out an award and offered his thoughts on rap ("addresses the problems of youth"), graffiti ("a real art form"), and, yes, break-dancing, the Telegraph reports. He looked “less than slick,” tee-hees Andrew Osborn in the Telegraph, dubbing him “stiff,” “awkward,” and “embarrassed,” before quoting a Moscow newspaper that called it “a desperate move” to increase his popularity. Putin was “doing his best to look cool, in a turtleneck and windbreaker,” adds Adam K. Raymond in New York. The stunt apparently worked on one rapper, who says he dreams of performing a duet with Putin.