Eton lads who met with Putin at the Kremlin were given intensive coaching on how to avoid sparking a major diplomatic incident
Students told to ask about when Russian-British relations would start warming up and to push the country's new Prime Minister
THE Eton boys who trumped Theresa May by organising a Kremlin audience with Vladimir Putin were coached in avoiding tricky questions that might "annoy" the Russian strongman.
The young men sought advice from the Berkshire college's former Russian master Peter Reznikov before the meeting, asking how to address the president as well as what questions to ask him and how to avoid his unpleasant side.
Their meeting came as the British Prime Minister was still waiting for her first face-to-face talks with Putin since moving into No 10, the former students were able to have a sit down with one of the most powerful leaders.
The teacher - who claimed Etonians believed he was a trained-to-kill colonel in the FSB secret service once headed by Putin - said the group had sought his counsel ahead of their clandestine trip the Kremlin.
He said: "They asked what kind of questions they could and could not ask Putin.
"I suggested asking questions in the friendliest manner possible - and not to annoy the president."
He said: "I suggested they ask Putin about when Russian-British relations would start warming up, and what needs to be done for it to happen."
In a radio interview, Reznikov avoided naming the topics he had discouraged them from raising during the hour long session which has been portrayed as a public relations coup for Putin.
Putin, who is notorious for gagging his own media and curtailing human rights, is known for his prickly demeanour.
Britain's new PM was eventually able to meet with Putin at the G20.
Reznikov, who spent 17 years teaching at Eton, told them to push Britain's changing political landscape, encouraging them to accentuate Britain's new PM, which would allow for a fresh start in bilateral relations.
He said: "I suggested they ask Putin about when Russian-British relations would start warming up, and what needs to be done for it to happen.
"I suggested to say that while the country's leaders are waking up to action, (young people) had decided to take the initiative and meet the president of Russia."
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But he did not speak about urging the 11 students to potentially quiz Putin on the assassination of the Kremlin leader's foe Alexander Litvinenko by nuclear poisoning in Britain almost a decade ago, nor the strongman's land grab in Crimea, nor what the West sees as his military operations in eastern Ukraine.
Reznikov, who once had security clearance for translations at the top of the Soviet government - including the Foreign and Finance Ministries - as the USSR broke up, said there were rumours spread about his past work.
He said: "As with every teacher at Eton College, there are some rumours spread about me. For example that I'm an FSB colonel, had previously worked as a bodyguard of Mikhail Gorbachev, and that I can kill with one blow or a precise Russian word."
He said many of the group had managed to speak Russian with the president, as many "had studied Russian and speak it rather well".
Some of the young students used headphones while others attempted to speak Russian.
But the teacher said none of the group were current Eton students.
he said: "As far as I know, none of the current pupils of Eton attended the meeting.
"All these guys are ex-pupils."
He said an Orthodox prelate called Bishop Tikhon had visited Eton, and the Putin meeting was set up after this session.
Tikhom is believed to be Putin's confessor.
The Kremlin declined to confirm this, and also said it was a "private visit" with no transcript released to the Russian media.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "It was interesting for both the president and for the boys but it would be wrong to give more details as it really was a private conversation which was not intended to be publicised."
Former Eton student Trenton Bricken wrote on Facebook that Putin was "small in person but not in presence".
David Wei, of Shanghei, said he organised the trip to "improve relations between the West and Russia", overcoming a wall of red tape.
He said: "It took me a total of ten months, 1040 emails, 1000 text messages, countless sleepless nights, constant paranoia during A2 exam season, declining academic performance.
"We truly gave Putin a deep impression of us and he responded by showing us his human face."
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