New! Sweden blocks the name of the boy ‘Vladimir Putin’
Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Alexander Zemlianichenko / POOL / AFP)
The Swedish tax authorities have rejected a couple’s request to name their newborn son “Vladimir Putin” and claim that the name was inappropriate.
The Swedish Tax Agency’s ruling said that according to the country’s law “first names can only be names that cannot cause insult, or are assumed to cause distress, for the person who bears the name”.
It added that “surnames are not suitable as first names, and this also applies to names similar to surnames”, says the verdict, which was announced in early September.
The IRS also refused to consider “Vladimir” and “Putin” as two separate first names, saying it must be considered “in its entirety” and therefore rejected it.
The letter denying the name, shared by the President of Russia, also contained a new name registration form for the new parents, who live in a village in southern Sweden.
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