Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) and German Chancellor¹ Angela Merkel attend a news conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo presidential residence outside Moscow March 8, 2008.
 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel put President Vladimir Putin on the spot on Saturday, asking if the former KGB spy had cooked breakfast for his wife Lyudmila to celebrate International Women's Day.

The Russian president began talks with Merkel at his residence just outside Moscow by congratulating her on Women's Day, which is widely celebrated² in Russia.

"Have you prepared breakfast for your wife this morning?" Merkel asked with a smile.

Putin smiled awkwardly before taking a deep breath: "I prepared her present and we will have breakfast together."

"Then breakfast means lunch?" Merkel quipped back at a meeting that took place after midday at the Novo-Ogaryovo presidential residence outside Moscow.

"Yes I suppose so. But it is Pancake holiday too ... so we will have fun later today." Putin snapped back.

Women's Day is a serious celebration in Russia, where men are expected to give flowers to their female partners and colleagues and do the house work at home.

Russians are also celebrating the end of winter with Pancake week, a pre-Christian carnival³ of revelry across Russia.

德国总理默克尔在上周六的国际劳动妇女节可是让俄罗斯总统普京难堪了一回，她问这位前克格勃有没有为妻子柳德米拉做早餐庆祝节日。

“妇女节”在俄罗斯广受重视。当天，普京与默克尔在位于莫斯科郊外的总统官邸举行会谈，普京首先向这位德国女总理送上了节日的祝福。

默克尔面带微笑地问普京：“今天你为妻子准备早餐了吗？”

普京尴尬地笑了笑，深吸了一口气后回答说：“我为她准备了礼物，我们还会一起吃早餐。”

默克尔风趣地说：“那么这顿早餐就是午餐了？”两位领导人的会晤于当天下午在莫斯科郊外的新奥加廖沃总统官邸举行。

普京立即回答说：“我想是的。不过今天也是薄饼节（又称“送冬节”），今天晚些时候我们可以一起庆祝。”

“妇女节”在俄罗斯很受重视，男士们在这一天要送花给伴侣和女同事，还要做家务。

俄罗斯民众正在举办“薄饼节”庆祝冬天的结束，“薄饼节”持续一周，是起源于前基督教时期的一个全国性的狂欢节。

Vocabulary:

put sb. on the spot:使某人处于难堪地位