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"Some fans say that group sex is better than one-on-one because, like in any collective work, you can take it easy a bit," said Vladimir Putin. The Russian President, according to The Telegraph and the AFP, apparently made those remarks during an interview today with the state-run Russian Today news channel. Depending on who you ask Putin's remark ranges from a joke to an actual observation (The Telegraph described his "musings" as "risqué,"while the AFP believed he was cracking a "Soviet-era" joke). In any case, hearing Putin's views on group sex scenario hits that cringe-inducing intersection between inappropriate uncle and Dr. Ruth. (And so soon after we finally shook those shirtless horseback pictures from our psyches). And yeah, some think there's more to this joke than Putin being odd. "Mr Putin’s risqué remark appeared to show a certain confidence returning to the leader after a turbulent period of street protests around his election for a third, non-consecutive term in the spring," writes The Telegraph's Tom Parfit. Meaning, we guess, that he's now got time to relax and kick back after Russian elections that were plagued with fraud and rigging.

The reason that we're talking about Putin's group sex comments in the first place is actually quite serious, as he was giving comments about privacy, Pussy Riot--one of its members was a part of (WARNING NSFW) an orgy staged in Moscow's state biology museum in 2008 and uploaded it on the Internet--and hooliganism. "I repeat, this is the affair [group sex] of each individual person," Putin was quoted as saying. "But uploading it to the internet — that, in my view, is a controversial question and could also be subject to legal evaluation." Which is really the most offensive thing he said in the interview. Three members of Pussy Riot continue to serve two-year prison sentences.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.