Source: Kremlin.ru

In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev took a trip to Ilmen Lake in Novgorod Oblast, about 500 kilometers northwest of Moscow, where they “accidentally” met and ate soup by the fire with a group of “local fishermen.” The trip, which was clearly staged, was supposed to highlight Putin and Medvedev's connection to Russia's “simple people,” and was reported on widely in state media.

RuNet users had a good laugh about the idea of Putin and Medvedev stumbling across a group of fishermen in the course of their daily work, but it wasn't until Orthodox Christmas last week that the fun really got started: on January 7, bloggers noticed the same “fishermen” in pictures from the President's Christmas celebration in Veliky Novgorod, on the banks of Ilmen Lake.

Когда забыли поменять декорации pic.twitter.com/d8QhULZl69

— Сталингулаг (@StalinGulag) January 7, 2017

When they forgot to change the decorations.

Вот так выглядят рыбаки с озера Ильмень, пока они случайно не повстречают президента… pic.twitter.com/QXN3kWU7dY

— Доктор Хаос (@leib_medic) January 7, 2017

How fishermen from Ilmen lake actually look when they're not accidentally being visited by the president.

Есть такая профессия – рыбаки Путина.

— Мысли Перзидента (@VVP2_0) January 8, 2017

It's a kind of profession – Putin's fishermen.

But some, including the blogger Rustem Adagamov, didn't see what the big deal was.

А объясните в чем тут подвох? Путин приехал к тем же рыбакам, с которыми встречался в сентябре на Ильмене. И чё? pic.twitter.com/7HdE7STKBF

— Рустем Адагамов (@adagamov) January 7, 2017

Explain to me what the catch is. The same fishermen whom Putin visited in September on Ilmen visited him. So what?

Many RuNet users speculated that the people standing behind Putin were officers from the Federal Protective Service (FSO), the state body tasked with protecting the president and other officials.

Особенности национальной рыбалки pic.twitter.com/uOql0uENyJ

— Усы Пескова (@Sandy_mustache) January 7, 2017

Peculiarities of the nation's fishermen.

Особенности национальной рыбалки -2 pic.twitter.com/p6klRbcZfK

— Усы Пескова (@Sandy_mustache) January 7, 2017

Peculiarities of the nation's fishermen, 2.

Офицер ФСО видит офицера ФСО издалека.
Без офицера ФСО не выловишь и рыбку из пруда

— Рогозин-на-орбите (@LyapunovS) January 7, 2017

An FSO officer recognizes an FSO officer from far away. Without an FSO officer you can't catch a fish from a pond.

Blogger Leonid Volkov, however, concluded that the “fishermen” in fact were activists from Novgorod. Volkov wrote on his Facebook page on the evening of January 7 that he had identified the woman in both photos as Larisa Sergukhina, an entrepreneur and activist from Novgorod.

Transcripts from the Christmas celebration show that Putin spent a good deal of time talking to her.

This post has been updated.