<p>Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was beaming Wednesday after his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin praised his "masculinity" in a speech, triggering a flood of jokes online about a budding "bromance."</p>.<p>Putin lavished praise on Bolsonaro Tuesday in an address to a virtual summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), saying the far-right president was an example of "courage" for his management of the coronavirus pandemic.</p>.<p>"You were even infected personally by this disease, and withstood the ordeal with great courage," Putin said of Bolsonaro's July illness, according to a transcript that the Brazilian himself posted on Facebook.</p>.<p>"I know that moment must not have been easy, but you faced it like a real man and showed the best qualities of masculinity, such as strength and willpower," he added.</p>.<p>Besides posting the video and transcript online, Bolsonaro proudly brought up the speech with a group of supporters outside the presidential palace.</p>.<p>"Anyone see the Russian president's speech yesterday? Did anyone catch that?" he asked.</p>.<p>The episode gave birth to a flood of memes poking fun at the Russian strongman and the Brazilian populist.</p>.<p>In one, a bare-chested Bolsonaro sits behind an also-shirtless Putin atop his horse.</p>.<p>Others joked that Bolsonaro was apparently flirting with a new partner after "breaking up" with his political idol, US President Donald Trump, after the latter lost his re-election bid two weeks ago.</p>.<p>Despite Putin's praise, public health experts have sharply criticized Bolsonaro's handling of Covid-19, which he has sought to minimize even as it has killed more than 166,000 people in Brazil -- the second-highest death toll worldwide, after the United States.</p>
<p>Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was beaming Wednesday after his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin praised his "masculinity" in a speech, triggering a flood of jokes online about a budding "bromance."</p>.<p>Putin lavished praise on Bolsonaro Tuesday in an address to a virtual summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), saying the far-right president was an example of "courage" for his management of the coronavirus pandemic.</p>.<p>"You were even infected personally by this disease, and withstood the ordeal with great courage," Putin said of Bolsonaro's July illness, according to a transcript that the Brazilian himself posted on Facebook.</p>.<p>"I know that moment must not have been easy, but you faced it like a real man and showed the best qualities of masculinity, such as strength and willpower," he added.</p>.<p>Besides posting the video and transcript online, Bolsonaro proudly brought up the speech with a group of supporters outside the presidential palace.</p>.<p>"Anyone see the Russian president's speech yesterday? Did anyone catch that?" he asked.</p>.<p>The episode gave birth to a flood of memes poking fun at the Russian strongman and the Brazilian populist.</p>.<p>In one, a bare-chested Bolsonaro sits behind an also-shirtless Putin atop his horse.</p>.<p>Others joked that Bolsonaro was apparently flirting with a new partner after "breaking up" with his political idol, US President Donald Trump, after the latter lost his re-election bid two weeks ago.</p>.<p>Despite Putin's praise, public health experts have sharply criticized Bolsonaro's handling of Covid-19, which he has sought to minimize even as it has killed more than 166,000 people in Brazil -- the second-highest death toll worldwide, after the United States.</p>