Moscow: A slip of the tongue has earned a Russian newsreader celebrity status on the Internet, after she mistakenly said that blogosphere was debating whether Prime Minister Vladimir Putin should be "buried".
Maria Bukhtuyeva, a newsreader from the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, took the name of Putin instead of Vladimir Lenin, leader of 1917 Russian revolution while debating a proposed referendum by Russian presidential hopeful Mikhail Prokhorov. Prokhorov had proposed holding a referendum on removal of Vladimir Lenin`s body from Red Square Mausoleum where it is preserved since his death in 1924, and bury it.
"Shall we bury Vladimir Putin?" Bukhtuyeva of Krasnoyarsk`s TVK television channel said on air last week.

"This topic is now being actively discussed on the Internet," she added.
Her remarks created quite a sensation in Russian blogosphere as thousands of commentators showered her page on social website Vkontakte with various posts.
The recording uploaded on YouTube has half a million views in just three days. The channel on its part aired Bukhtuyeva`s clarification on the issue. Bukhtuyeva`s colleague had asked her on air how she had managed "to become an Internet star in a matter of 26 seconds". Bukhtuyeva had clarified that it was just a slip of the tongue.
Tens of thousands had taken to the streets in Moscow last month, protesting against Putin`s rule and the protesters are set to stage another rally in Moscow on Saturday. PTI