Putin Gives Chavez 'Stalin's Dog'

A Russian black terrier, known as "Stalin's dog"

On a visit to Venezuela, Igor Sechin, the head of the state-owned Russian oil company Rosneft, presented President Hugo Chavez with a gift from Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin -- a black Russian terrier puppy.

Sechin said the Venezuelan strongman was delighted with the three-month-old dog, and would reveal its name in a few days.

The breed, known in Russia as "Stalin's dog," is a mix developed after World War II of the giant schnauzer, Airedale terrier, Rottweiler, and Newfoundland breeds.

During his meeting with Chavez and Venezuela's energy minister on September 26, Sechin announced that Rosneft would invest $16 billion in the Carabobo-2 bloc in Venezuela's oil-rich Orinoco Basin.

Rosneft also plans to invest $20 billion in the Junin-6 project, also in the Orinoco Basin, over the next 40 years.

Chavez noted that it would be the first time that a Russian company would pump oil in the Americas, and that previously only U.S. companies were allowed to pump oil in Venezuela.