Russia's Vladimir Putin has been a newsworthy figure for some time.

I just now heard that putin is French for "whore". Can anyone verify?

Well, in French 'whore' is spelled putain /'put̃ɛ/. It's probably from pute 'girl' which is cognate with Italian putto whence English putti, those Baroque cherubim. Volodya's name is pronounced /ˈputʲɪn/. It's most likely a humorous coincidence. FWIW, Putin's grandfather was Lenin's (and Stalin's) cook, and his wife speaks fluent German.

Mel Brooks' character Dr. Frankenstein and his monster sang about him. Don't you remember, "Putin On the Ritz?" http://www.videosift.com/video/Young-Frankenstein-Puttin-on-the-Ritz

BTW, I understand that the composer Modest Mussorgsky's name is related to a Russian word for "garbage." (mycop) Pronounced "mussar."

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