Story By:  Sofija Dizdarevik, Sub-Editor:  Alex Cope, Agency:  Newsflash

A 72-year-old Guinness record holder has walked from Serbia to the Russian capital Moscow so that he can give a bottle of traditional fruit brandy to President Putin on Victory Day.

Milovan Milutinovic from the city of Uzice in the western Serbian district of Zlatibor set off for Moscow on foot in February with a bottle of ‘rakia’, a collective term for fruit brandy popular in the Balkans.

He was reportedly stopped by border police on numerous occasions but they let him pass when he showed them the picture of Putin.

Now that he has arrived in Moscow, he plans to gift the Russian president the bottle for Victory Day on 9th May when Russians celebrate the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945.

The Serbian, who has been dubbed ‘Superman’ in the Balkans, also carried a picture of President Putin with him on his journey.

He arrived in Russia well ahead of Victory Day and he told local media: “I feel great physically and mentally after finishing the trip.

“I was a little bit scared about the COVID-19 pandemic, but no one ran away from me and I didn’t run from them either.”

“I got here early, but I still believe I will get to see Vladimir Putin. I want to give him this present, a bottle of rakia from Uzice.”

“Not everyone could do this. I may be 72 years old, but I have 50 years of training behind me and millions of man hours that many people in their thirties don’t have.”

According to local media, the Serbian Embassy in Russia has been in contact with Milovan although it is unclear whether they are trying to help him meet the Russian president.

Several years ago, Milovan walked 2,500 kilometres from Uzice to London and became a Guinness record holder in the process, according to local media.

He told reporters that he would not be as fit as he is today if he had not been turned away by the army when he was younger for being underweight.

He turned to sports and reportedly became a runner-up bodybuilding champion in the former Yugoslavia at the age of 42.

‘Superman’ also boasts a karate black belt, according to reports.

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