Moscow - (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin gifted eight gold rings to the leaders of former Soviet republics allied to Moscow, sparking ridicule and comparisons likening him to the character of Sauron, the tyrant and power-hungry in the novel "The Lord of the Rings".

The leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States received golden rings engraved with the CIS logo and the words " Russia " and "Happy New Year 2023" during their summit with Putin in St. Petersburg on Monday and Tuesday.

And Putin kept a ninth ring for himself.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko appeared alone in one of the pictures, putting the ring on his finger.

Some commentators, including the prominent political scientist Ekaterina Shulman, considered that the indirect reference to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy by British writer J.R.R. Tolkien was intended.

In Tolkien's epic novel, Sauron gives rings to nine kings in order to force them to bend to his will.

Since Putin sent his forces to Ukraine in February, the Ukrainian authorities have compared Russia to "Mordor", the kingdom of Sauron, and the Russian forces to his "Orcs".

Tolkien expert Shulman writes that gifting rings seems at first like a "daydream".
"Of course this is intentional," she added on Instagram.

Another political commentator, Yulia Latynina, described the gifts as "weakness rings," an apparent reference to Putin's growing international isolation over his attack on Ukraine.

"Every country whose ruler wears this ring will turn into a dark state ruled by a madman," Latynina said sarcastically, adding, "I think only Putin will wear the ring. Not for long."

"Putin got bored of being the Hitler of the 21st century, so he decided to play the Lord of the Rings," wrote Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was no need to analyze too much about the meaning of the gifts.

"It is just a souvenir for the New Year, and there is nothing special about it," he said, adding that "Putin will not wear his ring."