Talking to Elton John would be right call for Vladimir Putin

The Russian president did not phone the singer to discuss the anti-gay policies for which Putin has been shunned by national leaders and the Kremlin isolated, says Masha Gessen

RUSSIA’S president, Vladimir Putin, did not call singer Elton John to meet to discuss LGBT rights in his country, but many people believed that he did.

On Monday, John wrote a post on Instagram saying he had received the phonecall. On Tuesday, the post went viral, penetrating even the Russian pro-government print media.