Russian satire duo behind Danish foreign policy committee prank

Elsewhere, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, has confirmed that the big ‘Russian Seasons’ culture project will be hosted by Denmark in 2022

It has emerged that the Russian satire duo Vovan and Lexus were behind the prank call of the Danish Parliament’s foreign policy committee recently.

Vovan and Lexus, who have previously duped Prince Harry, Boris Johnson, Elton John and Emmanuel Macron with phone pranks, admitted that it was they who had pretended to be Belarusian opposition figure Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in a call with the committee recently.

“Yes, this is our prank. We will publish the video on Monday morning and send you a link,” the duo wrote to Zetland journalist Frederik Kulager.

The penny eventually dropped that it might not be Tikhanovskaya when she brought up the topic of animal brothels. Still the conversation lasted a good 40 minutes.

Meetings in the Danish Parliament’s foreign policy committee are strictly confidential. There are no notes taken in the meeting and participants must leave their phones outside the room.

As a consequence of the prank, future meetings in the committee will be screened beforehand. 

READ ALSO: “What about all the animal brothels in Denmark?”

Danes to host Russian culture beacon
In what is definitely not a hoax, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, has revealed that Denmark will host the big culture festival ‘Russian Seasons’ in 2022.

The news comes in the wake of the foreign minister, Jeppe Kofod, meeting Lavrov in Moscow last week.

“We also welcome positive developments in the cultural and humanitarian areas. The partners responded to our proposal to hold a large-scale project, ‘Russian Seasons’, in Denmark in 2022, which is designed to present the achievements of Russian culture to the Danish public,” Lavrov said, according to TASS news agency.

Initiated by the Russian government, ‘Russian Seasons’ will feature tours of top Russian artists, exhibitions and films in the hosting country throughout the year.

Read more about ‘Russian Seasons’ here (in English).




  • How saying ‘yes’ to doing things led international Martijn Koekkoek to carve out a career in networking in Denmark

    How saying ‘yes’ to doing things led international Martijn Koekkoek to carve out a career in networking in Denmark

    Entrepreneurship wasn’t on the cards for Koekkoek when he moved to Copenhagen 15 years ago, but both by design and necessity, he laid the foundations of Everybody Networks Here—a networking community that encourages internationals to come as they are and connect over shared stories, passions, and struggles in an informal and inclusive setting.

  • Is Denmark’s budget surplus thanks to internationals?

    Is Denmark’s budget surplus thanks to internationals?

    Between 2002 to 2023, Denmark’s annual public balances have been underestimated by an average of 1,8% of GDP each year by the Ministry of Finance. The continued error accumulates 1,049 billion DKK unaccounted for the whole 20-year span. As the Danish government increasingly attracted international residents over that period, to what extent are internationals contributing to the country’s economic growth?

  • Bringing international theatre to the masses

    Bringing international theatre to the masses

    In a continually more globalized Copenhagen, the international crowds’ increasing demands for English entertainment have so far not been met. Now, an English-language theatre troupe, made up of internationals, is trying to bring Nordic high culture to the international crowd of Denmark

  • Trained nurses trapped in the system: Is it discrimination?

    Trained nurses trapped in the system: Is it discrimination?

    Despite language skills and years of experience, international healthcare professionals are unemployed due to system failures at SIRI and hospital recruitment.

  • Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen removed as CEO of Novo Nordisk

    Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen removed as CEO of Novo Nordisk

    According to a “mutual agreement” between board members of the global healthcare company Novo Nordisk, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen will step down from his position as CEO. He was appointed at this position since January 2017

  • “More internationals should learn Danish”: interview to Studieskolen director

    “More internationals should learn Danish”: interview to Studieskolen director

    Qasim Shaikh, Managing Director of Studieskolen since August 2024, comments on the survey, pointing out that more Danes are becoming uncomfortable with English replacing Danish: “More internationals should consider learning the language. It would make their lives here easier.”