Russian Santa Claus Prefers Christmas to Presidency, Pension

Russia's Santa Claus. (Reuters)
Russia's Santa Claus. (Reuters)
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Russian Santa Claus Prefers Christmas to Presidency, Pension

Russia's Santa Claus. (Reuters)
Russia's Santa Claus. (Reuters)

The Russian Santa Claus has refused to leave his magical Christmas world despite the temptations that surround him.

He rejected his pension, but not just because accepting this money will make him a normal person and deprive children from their dreams about the kind white-beard and red-costumed man, who is loaded with happiness, hope and gifts.

And because the Russian Santa still has confidence in his energy and vigor, he rejected the pension so people don’t say that he “became old” and cannot accomplish his missions.

In Russia, Santa Claus is Known as “Ded Moroz”, or “Grandfather Frost.” He lives in the city of “Veliky Ustyug” located in the Russian parts of the snowy North Pole.

As part of his tour of Russian cities, Ded Moroz held a press conference in Moscow at the TASS news agency after he visited its headquarters and wished its employees and journalists a merry Christmas.

Answering the questions of journalists, who tried to determine whether he was a normal person or a “guest from the magical world”, Ded Moroz replied that employees from the pension department visited him in his house and brought him documents of his monthly retirement pension, but he refused it.

With a smile on his face, he added that “I still have the power and energy”, but refused to reveal his real age, and insisted on staying in his own world.

Santa’s press conference coincided with the inauguration of electoral campaigns for the presidential elections in Russia.

However, he said that his tasks and mission are much more important than the presidency.

He said: “I’m not sure if the Russian President can be Santa Claus. I therefore believe that my role is much more valuable.”

This position did not prevent him from bringing a gift for the president, but he did not reveal what it was.



World War II Sergeant Whose Plane Was Shot Down over Germany Honored with Reburial in California

This 1944 photo provided by Honoring Our Fallen shows WWII veteran US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta from Los Angeles. Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany. On Thursday, July 25, 2024 community members lined the roads to honor Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport in southern California to a burial home. (Honoring Our Fallen via AP)
This 1944 photo provided by Honoring Our Fallen shows WWII veteran US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta from Los Angeles. Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany. On Thursday, July 25, 2024 community members lined the roads to honor Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport in southern California to a burial home. (Honoring Our Fallen via AP)
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World War II Sergeant Whose Plane Was Shot Down over Germany Honored with Reburial in California

This 1944 photo provided by Honoring Our Fallen shows WWII veteran US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta from Los Angeles. Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany. On Thursday, July 25, 2024 community members lined the roads to honor Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport in southern California to a burial home. (Honoring Our Fallen via AP)
This 1944 photo provided by Honoring Our Fallen shows WWII veteran US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta from Los Angeles. Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany. On Thursday, July 25, 2024 community members lined the roads to honor Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport in southern California to a burial home. (Honoring Our Fallen via AP)

After 80 years, a World War II sergeant killed in Germany has returned home to California.

On Thursday, community members lined the roads to honor US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport to a burial home in Riverside, California, The AP reported.

Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany, according to Honoring Our Fallen, an organization that provides support to families of fallen military and first responders.

One of the surviving crewmembers saw the plane was on fire, then fell in a steep dive before exploding on the ground. After the crash, German troops buried the remains of one soldier at a local cemetery, while the other six crewmembers, including Banta, were unaccounted for.

Banta was married and had four sisters and a brother. He joined the military because of his older brother Floyd Jack Banta, who searched for Donald Banta his whole life but passed away before he was found.

Donald Banta's niece was present at the planeside honors ceremony at the Ontario airport coordinated by Honoring Our Fallen.

The remains from the plane crash were initially recovered in 1952, but they could not be identified at the time and were buried in Belgium. Banta was accounted for Sept. 26, 2023, following efforts by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency within the US Department of Defense and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System.