SNL tackles Vladimir Putin's Ukraine invasion, politically and personally

Saturday Night Live

SNL tackles Vladimir Putin's Ukraine invasion, politically and personally
(Image credit: Saturday Night Live)

Lena Dunham hosted Saturday Night Live this weekend, but in some ways the star of the show was Russian President Vladimir Putin. Obviously, Putin himself — busy as he is consolidating Russian control of Ukraine's Crimea province — didn't make an appearance. And nobody on the show did their best Putin impersonation. But the Russian leader was the focus of the cold open, when Liam Neeson helped Jay Pharoah's President Obama poke fun at the Republican criticism that Obama just isn't tough enough to go mano a mano against the Russian strongman:

"Weekend Update" also started out with the Crimea situation, with Cecily Strong landing a pretty good joke about Obama and the right side of history. Taran Killam's Matthew McConaughey is nonsensically delightful, but if you want just the Ukraine stuff, skip ahead to about the seven minute mark, when Vanessa Bayer and Fred Armisen talk about what it's like to be Vladimir Putin's best friends growing up. --Peter Weber

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Peter Weber

Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.