Putin’s fish is big... but I’ve got a whopper: Battle of the rod-swinging rulers as President of Belarus lands 125lb catfish in Chernobyl exclusion zone

Blinky from The Simpsons

In a rod-swinging contest between hard-man rulers, Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, has outdone Russia’s Vladimir Putin by reeling in a real-life Blinky, the radioactive fish of The Simpsons fame.

Luka’s catch, a 125lb catfish, reportedly came from a river that runs through the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Its eyes have not been counted but it dwarfs the 46lb pike a pecs-out Putin reportedly caught just days earlier.

It’s not known if the fish will share Blinky’s fate. Caught by Bart, it was served for dinner by Marge to Mr Burns, who had defended it while running for mayor. Blinky ultimately cost him the election.