When Vladimir Putin took out the heart of a deer and gave it to Silvio Berlusconi

Former senator Fabrizio Schiccito from Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party has revealed that Vladimir Putin offered Silvio Berlusconi a fresh deer heart during a hunt.

Former senator Fabrizio Schiccito said the Italian leader was given this strange gift by the Russian president in 2013, when the two were vacationing at a cottage.

Shakito recalled Berlusconi saying that on his return from Russia, “Vladimir showed me a cruel nature, which I had not imagined in such a kind and wise man.”

During a hike in the forest, Putin spotted two deer and urged Berlusconi to shoot them. He reportedly said: ‘It’s yours. Shoot.’

But when the Italian (leader) refused, Putin targeted and killed both of them before looking at Berlusconi with satisfaction.

Shiketo told the Corriere della Sera newspaper that the Russian rushed down the slope with a knife and quickly surrounded the mammal and removed its heart.

The senator added that one of his bodyguards presented the heart to Berlusconi, saying it would make an extraordinary meal. But Berlusconi is said to have taken ill and was hiding behind a tree. “Maybe it’s a ritual of the hunters,” he said.

Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi can be seen at La Certosa, the private summer residence (AFP)

Berlusconi and the Russian president often visited each other and exchanged lavish gifts, describing themselves as ‘old friends’.

The two often enjoyed late-night parties in Milan when the Russian president traveled to Italy to attend European summits.

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On one occasion in 2014, Putin entered Berlusconi’s Milan villa after midnight and stayed there until about 3 a.m. before heading home with sleepless eyes.

In April 2022, the former Italian prime minister said he was ‘deeply disappointed’ by Putin’s attack on Ukraine, but later, when leaked recordings emerged, Berlusconi sipped vodka to Putin on his 86th birthday. Speaking of receiving 20 bottles, he blamed the war on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Berlusconi died last year in a Milan hospital after suffering from leukemia and a lung infection.

Paying tribute, the Russian president said he was saddened by the death of his ‘dear friend’.

“For me, Silvio was a valuable person and a true friend,” President Putin said in a message posted on Telegram.

He praised the 86-year-old for his ‘wisdom’ and ‘balanced and forward-looking decisions’.