Tatyana Limanova, Russian Newscaster, Gives Barack Obama The Finger On National Television (VIDEO)

It's the finger heard around the world.

Tatyana Limanova, a newscaster for Russia's REN TV, a privately held network, has taken the Internet by storm, as a clip of her raising her middle finger while reading President Barack Obama's name has become tremendously popular. The incident occurred during a live broadcast earlier in the month, after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev assumed chairmanship of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, a topic the newscast was addressing.

The position had formerly been held by Obama. Limanova displays the obscene gesture as she reads this fact.

But the whole thing may have been a bit of an accident, according to The Telegraph. It seems Limanova may not have actually known she was on camera.

The channel, which goes out to 120 million people across Russia, has declined to comment. But sources close to it have tried to defuse the row by claiming that the newsreader had believed she was off camera at the time and merely providing a voice-over for a report. According to the same storyline, the rude gesture was intended for studio technicians who had been trying to put her off her stride.

The timing seems fishy for many, even if the explanation is true.

While it seems doubtful that this somewhat comical incident will have any true international consequences, it is fair to say that it symbolizes the currently strained state of U.S.-Russia relations. Despite Obama's pledge to "reset" relations with Moscow, the two nations have been at odds over a proposed missile defense shield in Eastern Europe. On Wednesday, Medvedev threatened to target missiles at U.S. missile sites in Europe if he is not guaranteed that missiles in those locations are not aimed at Russia.

CLARIFICATION: A previous version of this article may have inadvertently implied that Medvedev actually threatened to fire upon U.S. missile sites. The language has since been changed to clarify that he in fact threatened to target those bases, not fire upon them.

WATCH:

Comments

[Bubba Gump]

05:01 AM on 12/05/2011

"It seems Limanova may not have actually known she was on camera." Hey, it's not radio. D'oh!

[terry63]

11:30 PM on 12/01/2011

It is a lack of leadership.The world is out to plunder America's Greatness. They see us as weak. We must have leadership. The world is watching us. America, is the nation who has always stepped up to save the rest of the world. Yet here we are. With one party who will not raise taxes in order to save its self, and another party who will not cut spending in order for a tax increase to ever be noticed.Under Kennedy, we saw the soviet union blink as America stood tall on the Missiles of october. Under Reagan, we saw the Berlin Wall come down. We saw the soviet Union desolve. Under Bush, we saw A progressive president spend us into submission, and now we are being lead by a citizen of the world.

[Bubba Gump]

05:05 AM on 12/05/2011

I agree with you except for the "progressive" label about President Bush. George W. Bush was a conservative Republican who did "spend us into submission" and no one in Congress stopped him. Plenty of blame for everyone.

[foreignobserver]

11:24 AM on 11/30/2011

In the picture her figure is blacked out. Really makes me wonder what it looked like. I looked at my own hands and saw nothing on my fingers so obscene that they might be blacked out. Thank goodness Huffpost is available to protect the sensibilities of people who chose to read this article.

[Petunia Fields]

04:23 PM on 11/29/2011

Thats BS, anyone that understands Russian knows that she was just asking Obama if he wanted to smell her finger.

[CrawfishFestival]

02:46 PM on 11/29/2011

Janet Napolitano of Homeland Security - has yet to come up with the identities of the parties who placed CLASSIFIED information over the internet - of the LOCATION of our Missles, and the number of warheads at each site.

[Ureka]

04:34 PM on 11/27/2011

SHE BELONGS IN RUSSIA!

[foxynoise]

10:21 AM on 11/27/2011

Faux News outed again!

[foxynoise]

10:16 AM on 11/27/2011

Russian Fox News! Thought they would stay under cover a little longer.

[truthocentric]

06:03 PM on 11/26/2011

Her lack of professionalism cost her her job. Her lack of decency? Well, you really can't put a price on that. GO USA

[Vapula]

03:50 AM on 11/28/2011

You mean she should go to the US to learn decency???

[Keith Burrows]

06:00 PM on 11/26/2011

In general today, I'm glad to see more tolerant & liberal comments. Where have you been lately?? :-)

[Oregonpapa]

05:30 PM on 11/26/2011

Perhaps as a Russian citizen, she has a deeper knowledge of history that most Americans, thanks to our government monopolized school systems, lack.

I see a woman in that film who knows where collectivism leads to. I see a woman who may have had grandparents perish in gulags. I see a woman who knows the path, down which a country is led, by a leader adulated by the masses. I see a women with a message for Americans.

[jack Winn]

05:56 PM on 11/26/2011

Much better to have a school system where only the upper class get educated at all, and everybody else gets indoctrinated by Faux.

You don't imagine that this woman may also be a product of a govt monopolized school system, and as far as her country is no longer communist, it's still the same cronies running the show, only now they're paying more attention to resource management and less to ideology.

[Oregonpapa]

06:34 PM on 11/26/2011

Indoctrinated by Faux? That's really laughable ... and you sir, are letting your transparency show.

What the Hell ... communism/fascism/liberalism/progressivism/collectivism has only killed 300,000,000 over the past 100 years, let's try it again!

[Dale Birmingham]

05:29 PM on 11/26/2011

She must have voted for him too.

[elemc]

05:19 PM on 11/26/2011

Some Americans who read and contemplate this article will simply think about it from their own political and racial prejudices. There is an entirely different aspect that should be considered. The fact that the journalist is not American is not relevant.
Many journalists of a generation ago took pride in reporting with fairness and integrity. Today it is common to easily detect personal bias not only in written articles, but also in radio and television reporting. How much of this change is due to the lack of journalistic standards in our media? How much is due to changes to the educational system?
Most importantly, how has this contributed to the hatred and partisanship displayed by those elected by the people of our country to represent us? Or, is it possible that most of our political “leaders” are so beholden to their wealthy donors that they are happy to see the divisions fueled by the media? Most importantly, will the hatred and partisanship pave the way for the marketing campaigns (that have become the norm in our elections) to convince us to vote against our best interest and the best interest of the country?

[Keith Burrows]

05:44 PM on 11/26/2011

Wow! I didn't think there was anyone with half a brain on Yahoo News! With so much hatred being spewed here I read other news (CNN, etc.) as this one is definitely full of too many 'Yahoos" for my taste. But you should be commended for writing a post with sense & intelligence. Thank you.

PS. Just be careful they have guns and vitriol that would peel the wallpaper off the walls! I've never seen such hatred anywhere except in my middle school as a kid!

[elemc]

02:19 PM on 11/27/2011

Thank you for the complement...and the warning. The most vitriolic comments I have read have been on the Facebook pages of U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives.

It seems that it is easier for many people to spew than to think or perform any independent research. I find this very distressing.

[cwbyspirit]

04:52 PM on 11/26/2011

She lost her job? SHE SHOULD HAVE GOT A RASIE! It just shows even the people in other counties can see we don't need 4 more years of Obama!

[ConDsenXieN]

05:22 PM on 11/26/2011

Judging by your comments, I'd weep for the nation if your candidate of choice got in...provided you can pick one.

[ggranny]

05:29 PM on 11/26/2011

Looks like she got a 'RASIE' out of you. A finger on TV is better than two shoes being thrown at you while on TV! Wouldn't you think? Guess the man was showing his love for Bush.

[Keith Burrows]

05:54 PM on 11/26/2011

She did get a "Rasie" (but I spell it "razzie") from ME!

[James Halpin]

04:51 PM on 11/26/2011

I am truly astonished at all the publicity you are giving this finger issue as for people saying they have lost respect for President Obama he is the commander of the most powerful nation on the planet more power to you Mr President

[sakovkt]

05:21 PM on 11/26/2011

8 months for the most Powerful Nation on Earth in conjunction with the 22 members of NATO to defeat half of Libya?

Thank God that Tatyana didn't raise her voice!

[jack Winn]

05:47 PM on 11/26/2011

I didn't see you out there.

[chiefjat]

05:41 PM on 11/26/2011

I don't Obama, but I respect the office he holds, hopefully only until Jan 2013.