[Weird Russia] Medvedev the Merry Gnome?

President Medvedev was in Omsk last week. In an effort to make sure everything was perfect for his visit, city officials "prevented pedestrians from crossing a street for 40 minutes in punishingly cold weather while waiting for Medvedev's motorcade to pass" and "In some places, the sidewalks were covered with fresh, clean snow brought in from outside the city."

The best part: officials removed a poster from an unrelated children's theater production which read "We Await You, Merry Gnome."

According to the Moscow Times, "It was unclear exactly why the poster might have been removed, though Novy Region suggested that officials may have been afraid of offending Medvedev, whose height has been estimated in the media at 162 centimeters." (For metritards, 162 centimeters is about 5'2".)