As the policeman stripped off his uniform on the stage of the Pushkin movie theater on Monday night, martial arts star Jackie Chan's face split into a huge grin.
Minutes earlier, Sergeant Mikhail Ripka from Moscow's 159th police division had been sitting in the audience with his wife watching the Hong Kong film star answer questions from the audience. The next moment, the portly policeman was standing half naked on the stage while Chan tried on his uniform and the hundreds of people who came out for the "Meeting With Jackie Chan" were cheering and wolf whistling.
Chan, who was in Moscow for one day only to publicize his latest film, "Shanghai Noon," had received a rapturous welcome from the hundreds of fans who paid up to a 1,000 rubles ($36) to see him Monday evening.
Ripka was cajoled onto the stage after actor and host Leonid Yarmolnik asked the audience if there was a policeman in the house.
Earlier in the day, Chan, an avid collector of military uniforms and star of "Police Story" and its sequels, had confessed to Yarmolnik that he'd really like a Russian police uniform, and Yarmolnik decided to try to get him one.
Yarmolnik, who promised to give his clothes to Ripka in exchange, persuaded the off-duty but still in-uniform Ripka to come up on stage and strip down to his boxer shorts and tank top as a present to Chan. Yarmolnik promised to take responsibility if the policeman got into trouble for it.
As the Hong Kong star put on the jacket with the badge shining, he pulled out a set of keys and returned them to Ripka and then saluted him.
"I'm glad," said his wife, Lena, who said her husband was a big Chan fan and had a spare uniform at home anyway. "It's interesting. My husband and Jackie Chan together."
"I don't know how he's going to get home though," she wondered.
Chan was treated to a stunning performance by a group of young martial arts students who flew, tumbled and somersaulted around the stage as if they were auditioning for parts in his movies. He also was serenaded by girl group Strelki, feted by sailors and inundated with flowers from local fans, both Russian and Chinese.
Lining up outside the movie theater, members of the Jackie Chan Fan Club sported nametags in Chinese and watched out for Chan's costars who were passing less knowledgeable fans unnoticed.
"He is a very good actor and an exciting person," said Andrei Yevgrafov, the stocky 15-year-old president of the fan club.
Galina Gruzdeva, holding a big bunch of red roses, had brought her whole family to see Chan, even though they had already seen "Shanghai Noon," once on pirate video and once in the cinema.
During the show, the fans were given the chance to ask Chan questions.
Among the answers were that Chan thinks his best film is the original "Police Story," that his next film will be a sequel to "Rush Hour," and that he now trains three hours a day, but in his younger days he would train from five in the morning to late at night.
He also said that although famous for doing all his own stunts, he is not insured.
"Nobody will insure me," Chan said, and Yarmolnik added, "That's why the Russians and the Chinese are so close: Nobody will insure us either."
One of the questions he didn't answer was whether he felt he could beat judo expert President Vladimir Putin in a fight.
"It's like apples and cucumbers," said Yevgeny Kasyanov of the Jackie Chan Fan Club. "You can't compare them."
After the questions, Chan was treated to a martial arts display by the marine corp. It was a show slightly more hard core than the children's - more Stallone than Chan with real bottles being smashed on heads, planks shattered on the marines backs and tiles being thumped with bare hands.
One marine rushed off the stage in obvious pain after attempting to smash three chunks of wood one after the other. After his hand had rebounded off the first, he grabbed the piece and smashed it in two with his head and then struggled to break the other two. He rubbed his head a lot before retreating.
"It's a bit more serious than in Jackie Chan films, but that's Russia," said a wry Yarmolnik as they finished their show. "That's what makes us different."
After the show, Chan was presented with a sailor's uniform, flag and beret. Looking at the epaulettes, Chan joked, "Couldn't I have a higher rank?"
Before leaving, Chan was inundated with flowers.
"I receive many letters from my Russian fans," he said. "I think the only way to thank you is to do good films."