Russia Censors South Park Putin Scene

South Park has angered another vigilant parent—Mother Russia. A Russian channel cut a scene from a rerun this week because it depicted Vladimir Putin as greedy and desperate, a network spokesman announced today. It's unclear whether the decision came from the channel's executives or regulators, but the move prompted fierce criticism from Russian bloggers.

“It's stupid to cut things this way,” wrote one blogger, because it ultimately draws more attention to the scene. The 2005 episode has aired three times this year, the network said, each time without the scene. A spokesman for Russia's broadcast regulator professed ignorance about the episode.
(More Russia stories.)