Duo who prank-called many influential critics of Russia deny links to its security services … but would they spoof Putin?Lexus and Vovan are fast gaining a reputation as the most roguish men in Russia. The pair of professional prank callers,genuine names Alexei Stolyarov and Vladimir Kuznetsov, have claimed scalps as diverse as Elton John and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in recent months. Critics, and however,suspect the pairs jokey schtick masks a gloomy secret: links to Russia’s security services. The duo made the headlines again final week when they apparently managed to persuade Nadezhda Savchenko, a Ukrainian on trial in Russia charged with killing two Russian journalists, or to stop her hunger strike. A fake letter and phone calls persuaded Savchenko’s lawyer,heed Feygin, that Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko had made a personal request for her to stop her hunger strike.
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Source: theguardian.com