Vladimir Putin's meeting table
Russian president Putin and French president Macron in 2022
DesignerOAK Furniture
Datec. 1996
Made inCantu, Como, Lombardy, Italy
MaterialsBeech wood
Width6 m (20 ft)
CollectionKremlin
Table in use by President Putin in 2000

Vladimir Putin's meeting table is a white-topped oval beech table that was installed in the Kremlin in the late 1990s, during the presidency of Boris Yeltsin.[1] It is reported that the table is 6 metres (20 feet) long, made from a single sheet of beech wood, and supported on three hollowed wooden stands. It is lacquered white and is gold-plated on the side.[2]

OAK Furniture, a business from Cantù, Italy, claimed to make the table, as part of a deal furnishing parts of the Kremlin between 1995 and 1997. OAK has produced a picture of the table in a book published in 1999.[2]

History

In 2022, Russian president Vladimir Putin has used the table in meetings with world leaders, among others Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and António Guterres.[3][4][5] Putin was pictured seated at one end of a very long white meeting table, with the other participants seated far away from him at the other end. Putin has also been pictured attending similarly distanced meetings with his own officials at other long tables.[6] The table became the subject of numerous internet memes.[7]

It has been speculated that Putin chooses to use the long table in an attempt to intimidate and to project an image of power, or for fear of contracting COVID-19.[3][8][9] Putin has been pictured attending meetings in close proximity with Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping and Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko in the same period.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "To Russia with love: vast Italian table in Kremlin turns heads". Reuters. 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  2. 1 2 "Italian craftsman claims Putin's 'unique' oversized table". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  3. 1 2 "Putin's massive table: powerplay or paranoia?". The Guardian. 2022-02-08. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  4. ↑ Saul, Derek. "Putin's Long Tables Explained: Why He Puts Some Leaders, Including Germany's Scholz, At An Extreme Distance". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  5. ↑ "Putin breaks out the Kremlin's ridiculously long table to meet with the head of the UN". Business Insider. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  6. ↑ "Photos: Putin keeps his distance during meetings". uk.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  7. ↑ "Putin's White Table in Macron Talks Sparks Endless Memes". The Moscow Times. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  8. ↑ "What Putin's very long table tells us about Russia's inner workings". NBC News. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  9. ↑ "Thumbelina Politics: a Seat at Putin's Table". artreview.com. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  10. ↑ "Xi and Putin urge Nato to rule out expansion as Ukraine tensions rise". The Guardian. 2022-02-04. Retrieved 2022-04-28.


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