Happy Halloween! This Creepy Vladimir Putin Doll Will Give You Nightmares

Vladimir Putin can strike fear in the hearts of liberal activists, eastern Europeans, and the biggest of bears. Largely thanks to his penchant for belligerence and photo op toughness.

But now, you too can feel the dread with this well-crafted moving doll. Available just in time for Halloween, it depicts the Russian president annexing Crimea and is sure to find a home nestled in your nightmares.

The figurine is the product of famed puppet maker Christian Bailly. One of his earlier dolls, “The Bird Trainer,” went for $6.25 million.

This one is named “Putin Ecrivain” in honor of the famous 1890 automaton “Pierrot Ecrivain” (Writing Pierrot) by Gustave Vichy.

But while that involved a creepy clown, the modern version features the distinctly more frightening Vladimir Putin.

According to The Independent , the automaton is described by auction house Breker as “a unique contemporary automaton depicting a significant political event.”

Putin’s right hand moves across the paper with a realistic motion followed by his concentrated gaze until, apparently tired by his efforts, the lamp light dims and his head falls, as though on the verge of sleep. Waking, he turns up the lamp and continues writing. The figure’s movements are accompanied by a traditional Russian waltz.

Putin has doubled down on his belligerent stance toward the West over the past year. Earlier this month, we reported on his random closings of McDonald’s restaurants as some kind of retribution against the U.S. for its support of Ukraine. And just this week, several Russian military planes were intercepted over European airspace.

But those moves are part of a longer trend that has included nationalist hostilities against Halloween itself. Time reported last year that the Russian city of Sochi (which held this year’s winter Olympics) had banned the holiday because of concerns about the “psychological health” of children there. Moscow has been prohibiting trick-or-treating on All Hallow’s Eve for over a decade now.

RT reported last week that a Russian activist had requested that the country’s Culture Minister ban Halloween because it is “ideologically and culturally alien to the Russian way of life.”

The St. Petersburg Zoo, however, was still feeling festive this year. Hopefully the next Putin doll won’t feature him tackling a pumpkin-eating tiger…

The Vladimir Putin automaton is valued by Breker as being worth between $30,000 – $40,000. But the nightmares will be priceless.

Happy Halloween! This Creepy Vladimir Putin Doll Will Give You Nightmares