Serbian Wax Museum Sees 50% Rise in Visitors Thanks to Putin

A local wax museum in the Serbian city of Jagodina has seen a 50 percent jump in the number of visitors since it unveiled the wax figure of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tanjug news agency quoted the museum’s curator, Yelena Bulatovic, as saying on Monday.

“Putin’s figure has definitely done it! The first thing people ask when they come is ‘We have heard the news, we want to see Putin’s figure, tell us where it is,’” Yelena Bulatovic said.

Over a thousand people have been coming to the museum each day, most of them schoolchildren on guided tours since Putin’s wax figure appeared in the museum in March.

“Putin’s wax copy is a major attention grabber, especially for middle-aged and elderly visitors while younger people usually come to see the figures of famous athletes, above all of Novak Djokovic,” Bulatovic added.

Museum authorities in Jagodina, a town some 130 kilometers south of Belgrade, built the wax figure of Vladimir Putin, which became the museum's very first wax figure of a foreign leader,

The waxwork, created by Belgrade-based sculptors Zoran Ivanovic and Branislav Crvenkovic, was unveiled on March 23 during an official ceremony attended by Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, as well as Mayor of Jagodina Dragan Markovic.

The wax figure of Putin became the museum's very first wax copy of a foreign leader.

"It was created as a sign of Serbian appreciation of the Russian leader’s diplomatic effort which has been so helpful to our country,” Mayor Dragan Markovic said.

Vladimir Putin is an honorary citizen of eleven cities across Serbia.