New Delhi: An Alaska resident was left stunned after receiving a brand-new motorcycle, personally gifted by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s team, following an unexpected moment of viral fame.
Mark Warren, a retired fire inspector from Anchorage, was presented with a $22,000 (approximately Rs 19 lakh) Ural Gear Up motorcycle in olive green, complete with a sidecar, just days before the US-Russia summit in August. The motorcycle had been manufactured on 12 August and flown into Alaska shortly afterwards.
The gesture followed a chance encounter with a Russian television crew, who interviewed Warren while he was out running errands on his older Ural motorcycle. During the interview, he mentioned the difficulties of sourcing parts for his Soviet-era-inspired bike.
Reflecting on the bizarre turn of events, Warren told CNN, “It went viral, it went crazy, and I have no idea why, because I’m really just a super-duper normal guy. They just interviewed some old guy on a Ural and for some reason they think it’s cool.”
Two days prior to the 15 August summit, a journalist contacted Warren with surprising news: he would be receiving a new motorcycle. He admitted he was highly sceptical at first. “I assumed it was a prank,” he said.
However, after the summit, he was directed to a hotel car park in Anchorage, where six men, whom he presumed to be part of the Russian delegation, were waiting beside the motorcycle. “I dropped my jaw. I went, ‘You’ve got to be joking me,’” he recalled.
While completing the paperwork, Warren noticed the motorcycle’s manufacturing date, which confirmed how recent the delivery was. “The obvious thing here is that it rolled off the showroom floor and slid into a jet within probably 24 hours,” he said.
The keys were officially handed over by Andrei Ledenev from the Russian Embassy in the United States. “I have to say that this is a personal gift from the President of the Russian Federation,” Ledenev announced.
Warren wasted no time taking the new Ural for a spin, with Ledenev riding pillion and another man occupying the sidecar. “It’s night and day,” he said. “I like my old one, but this one is much better. I’m speechless, it’s amazing. Thank you very much,” as quoted by Reuters.
Despite the attention, Warren remained cautious about how the gesture might be perceived. “If they want something from me, they’re gonna be sorely disappointed,” he said. “I don’t want a bunch of haters coming after me that I got a Russian motorcycle. … I don’t want this for my family.”
The only request from the Russian delegation was for a few photos and a short interview, a small price for what Warren described as a truly unexpected and extraordinary experience.