Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has revealed that he was forced to share a bedroom and bathroom with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev during a recent official visit to Russia. Tsvangirai made the comments after returning from a two day visit to Moscow designed to gain Russian support for his opposition Movement for Democratic Change party, which is still locked in protracted power-sharing talks with the ruling Zanu-PF party of president Robert Mugabe.
"I never thought anyone could be more humiliated than me," said Tsvangiria in an interview afterwards, "But Putin treats Medvedev worse than Mugabe treats me." The comments appeared to underscore the oft-heard outside impression that the current Russian President is little more than a subservient puppet of the now Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
The MDC leader went on to describe the details of the visit in surprising detail, telling an interviewer "Prime Minister Vladimir Putin makes Medvedev sleep in the servants quarters - he hasn't moved out of where he lived when he was president...and when I arrived, I was told we would have to share a room and a bathroom. During the night, Putin rang Medvedev and I and we had to go and rub his feet. Oh well, at least I didn't get beaten up like I do in Zimbabwe!"
Tsvangirai also acknowledged that he and Medvedev had developed a strong bond during the visit, "Only he and I know what certain political situations are like. You can't bathe with a man and not get a deep understanding of his soul."
