One of Jerusalem's most popular bars "Putin Pub" is now looking for a new name after announcing it will change its name in the wake of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The pub was founded by Russian immigrants back in 2000, who chose "Putin Pub" for their nascent bar in order to draw Russian customers with an easily identifiable and iconic name.
“The name was given by the previous owner as a gimmick. We do not want any connection to politics," says current pub co-owner Leon Teterin.
Teterin - alongside his partners - decided to scrap the iconic name after 21 years, due to its association with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who recently ordered troops into Ukraine, displacing masses of civilians in a biggest assault on a European state since World War II.
"This is a place of entertainment, and no one wants to feel the effects of the war and politics when drinking beer,” Tatrin says.
He added that the bar welcomes both Russian and Ukrainian customers, and is vehemently against Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor.
“We are against the war, we want to host Ukrainians and Russians here. We have received full support for lowering the sign," says Tetrin, adding that the owners have yet to select a new name for the pub.
With more than 1 million Jews from Russia, Ukraine and former Soviet states making their way to Israel after the fall of the Iron curtain in the early 1990s - Israel is considered the largest Russian diaspora in the world.
Republished with permission from i24NEWS