In a move some are calling "one of the most Russian things that has ever happened" (fine, nobody is calling it that), Russian Premier League player Kirill Kombarov, 27, of FC Torpedo Moscow, hired a live bear from the circus for his son's birthday party.
The bear was muzzled and, for whatever reason, wearing a tie.
According to reports, children climbed all over the bear and took pictures of it. One picture shows Kombarov's son, Timofei, riding on the bear's back.
Apparently, Kombarov saw the bear perform on T.V. and decided it would be a fun way to entertain his son Timofei at his birthday party.
Naturally, this situation has drawn heavy criticism from animal rights activists, who (for whatever reason) don't see hiring a muzzled bear to perform at a toddler's birthday as a very animal-friendly act.
This might just be some kind of weird Russian tradition in which to become a man you have to subdue a bear and ride on its back, but I doubt this is the case. I know if I saw a live bear at my birthday party as a toddler I would probably weep then pee myself, but then again I am not Russian.
At least Kombarov didn't hire a party clown.
