Let’s get this out of the way immediately: When you hear the phrase “Russian state television,” you need to understand that it means whatever is shown has the express approval and sometimes even directions from the government. Nothing happens on Russian state TV that doesn’t meet Vladimir Putin’s standards.

We don’t have anything like that in America, so it’s hard to wrap your brain around. Sure, you’ve heard of such things. But here in the land of free speech, it’s just hard to comprehend as something that still goes on elsewhere.

Russia is a dictatorship. They hold pretend elections, and then Putin sees to it that his opponents are killed or imprisoned. He controls what the people of his country see.

Trump has expressed in no uncertain terms that he’d like to have that same kind of power. And now he’s getting a firsthand look at what it can do.

Julia Davis, founder of Russian Media Monitor, says it all in her Twitter/X bio: “I watch Russian state TV, so you don’t have to.” What Julia does is keep an eye on how America is being presented to the people of Russia. More often than you’ve ever been told, we are portrayed as weak and stupid.

Now Putin, through the nation’s most-watched state TV channel, is doing exactly that to Donald Trump. The popular show 60 Minutes (no relation to ours, of course), in “celebration” of Trump’s win, aired all of those nude photos that Melania’s so proud of. In primetime. Nipples and all, folks.

This is, of course, not safe for work, so watch now, or watch later, or don’t watch at all, but here is the relevant segment of the broadcast. The nudity doesn’t happen immediately, and the resolution is quite low, on purpose. Geez, this isn’t that kind of website, guys.

The original post from Julia Davis was made private, but it was presented with a caption: “Meanwhile in Russia: this is how the most watched state TV channel in the country welcomed Melania Trump’s upcoming return to the White House. Olga Skabeeva [sic] is trying not to laugh. This was probably her idea.”

The message, whether to America or to Donald Trump himself, was perfectly clear. Never forget that we own you.

The presenter, Yevgeny Popov, narrates the video [in Russian; we have translated here]:

Now that Melania Trump’s husband has finally won, she is getting ready to come back to the White House for a second time. Here is how Melania looked in the year 2000. This is the cover of the magazine GQ.

The future first lady lies on top of a sheepskin rug in a negligee. Inside the magazine, Melania’s sexy photos near a private plane and aboard the plane. In one of the shots, the model is wearing only her underwear, lying on a blue carpet with the U.S. seal, as though the editors of the men’s magazine knew something in advance about the future of their model.

None of this is to say that Melania is ashamed of her nude photos, of course. In fact, she compared herself to Michelangelo’s David in a promo video posted to X for her (then) upcoming book Melania. That memoir is currently enjoying the benefits of being purchased by the GOP at a rate high enough to get it to number one on the New York Times bestseller list.

In the video, she narrates over a compilation of images of classical art:

Why do I stand proudly behind my nude modeling work? The more pressing question is: Why has the media chosen to scrutinize my celebration of the human form in a fashion photo shoot?

Are we no longer able to appreciate the beauty of the human body? Throughout history, master artists have revered the human shape, evoking profound emotions and admiration.

We should honor our bodies and embrace the timeless tradition of using art as a powerful means of self expression.

I don’t know, this whole thing kind of looks like Vladimir Putin caught that video of Nick Fuentes, the holocaust denier and white supremacist who had dinner a couple of years ago with Donald Trump. You know, the one where Nick says “Your body, my choice” in mockery of the women who have likely lost their right to choose forever with the election of Donald Trump.

Melania’s body, Vladimir’s choice.

I’d say that this was a fitting way for Putin to prove who’s Donnie’s daddy, but that just plays into the misogynoir of Trump “owning” his wife to begin with.

The point is, Putin sees Melania as Donald’s property, and so does Donald, and Putin knows it. He’s sending a message loud and clear.