Vladimir Putin spokesman 'proud of wife' who performed Holocaust-themed ice skating dance

But wife Tatiana Navka says dance performance was inspired by film

Vladimir Putin’s spokesman says he is “proud” of his wife after her controversial, Holocaust-themed, ice-skating dance routine.

Speaking to an Associated Press correspondent, the president's press secretary Dimitry Peskov said: “I’m proud of my wife, this is all I can say.”

Tatiana Navka performed on Russian reality show Ice Age on Saturday, with actor Andrei Burkovsky, in the striped uniform resembling that worn by Second World War concentration camp victims.

It was adorned with a yellow Star of David, which Jewish people were forced to wear by the Nazis, and the grinning pair also mimed shooting one another in the sequence.

The couple used a song by Israeli singer Achinoam “Noa” Nini, Beautiful That Way, to accompany the act on what was the state-owned Channel One.

Viewers have demanded public apologies, but Ms Navka claims the dance has been utterly misunderstood.

Writing on her Instagram page, the professional ice skater said the routine paid tribute to her favourite film, Life is Beautiful – an Italian film about a bookshop owner who uses his imagination to distract his son from the concentration camp horrors.

She wrote: “Show this movie to your children. Our children need to know and remember that terrible time, which I hope, God willing, they will never know (again)”.

Putin's spokesman Peskov said say he 'wouldn't put trust in such unfounded claims' Getty (Getty)

Russia’s version of Dancing with the Stars also featured a dance routine incorporating a Nazi officer back in April.