Ukraine's Poroshenko Prompts Meme Craze in Russia After Twitter Gaffe

In one day Ukraine's Petro Poroshenko has transformed himself from his country's President to the cover star of almost every major magazine, on Twitter at least.
The Ukrainian leader, whose country is currently caught in an uneasy ceasefire with Russian-backed separatists in its eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions, tweeted what he believed to be an innocuous joke on Sunday.
He posted a photo of a mocked-up copy of The Economist's latest front cover, which originally showed the faces of the world's most influential figures under the headline "The World in 2016" with two notable changes. The headline was changed to 2017, and the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin was substituted with that of Poroshenko.
Ukraine's president photoshops himself onto the The Economist in place of Putin, then deletes it (h/t @27khv) pic.twitter.com/aZT9pl8PXO
— Danielle Ryan (@DanielleRyanJ) January 3, 2016
Although Poroshenko shrugged off criticism of the move, claiming it was a joke, this did not stop Russian bloggers with having a field day of Poroshenko-inspired memes.
By Monday morning, the phrase "The Economist" was trending in Russia, and Poroshenko had made it on the cover of fashion bible Vogue, instead of Kate Upton:
ÐоÑоÑенко ÑÑал геÑоем ÑоÑожаб из-за Ñейковой обложки The Economist pic.twitter.com/KcrUoOY6uq
— ÐаÑÑÑ ÐономаÑева (@giufeira88) January 4, 2016
… and Rolling Stone, ahead of Megan Fox.
А чего Порошенко твит то удалил? Дальше бы фотошопил свою рожу на обложки журналов pic.twitter.com/UYireYOrJG
— Мюсли Лаврова (@LavrovMuesli) January 4, 2016
…Vogue again, though sporting a different look:
Репост. Порошенко теперь герой фотожаб (Новости Украины): Оригинал взят у jonny_dogsvill в Порошенко теперь герой… pic.twitter.com/CmBMA46vWX
— Станислава Наникова (@nanikovastanis1) January 4, 2016
Poroshenko even popped up on two covers of Time, once with his face first on the body of the first man in space, Russia's Yuri Gagarin, then on the body of the pope:
ÐоÑоÑенко ÑÑал геÑоем ÑоÑожаб поÑле ÑиÑÑаÑии Ñ The Economist @new_ukraina https://t.co/DKeS9NWv3O pic.twitter.com/50V72JOdJb
— ÐÐ¾Ð²Ð°Ñ Ð£ÐºÑаина (@new_ukraina) January 4, 2016
#Порошенко высмеяли после скандала с журналом # подробнее читайте здесь: https://t.co/lvYxJfZHpq pic.twitter.com/c0fMtMku2m
— #TopNews-ru.ru (@topnews_ru_ru) January 4, 2016
Before the day was through, Poroshenko's face even took the place of Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile:
Ðак ÑÑаÑÑ Ð·Ð²ÐµÐ·Ð´Ð¾Ð¹: ÐÑÑÑ ÐоÑоÑенко в поиÑÐºÐ°Ñ Ñвоего меÑÑа. ÐÑигоÑий ÐгнаÑов ⺠04.01.2016 - https://t.co/o4hyn1lh9h pic.twitter.com/bL1WzZ21jd
— Digest Press (@digest_press) January 4, 2016
And finally, Mount Rushmore lost one president in Abraham Lincoln but gained another one:
ÐÐ¾Ð²Ð°Ñ ÑоÑожаба на ÐоÑоÑенко, гÑезивÑего о меÑÑе ÐÑÑина, ÑазоÑвала СеÑÑ https://t.co/4Uz7YyPDCg pic.twitter.com/az0koVkB4o
— Persona Grata (@PertaRu) January 4, 2016