Russian President Vladimir Putin has been making virtually no public appearances lately, and the Kremlin, according to Faridaily, has been replacing his presence with outdated materials about “working meetings.”
This was reported by URA-Inform, citing Faridaily.
This practice is not new for Russia, but this time the delay between real events and their coverage can be weeks. According to Faridaily, Putin last appeared in public on November 7 at the Valdai Forum. All subsequent reports from the Kremlin about his activity are related to presumably pre-recorded meetings.
Examples:
On November 12, information was published about a meeting with the head of the United Russia faction, Vladimir Vasiliev. However, the discussion of the budget mentioned in this report has lost its relevance, since it was submitted to the State Duma back in September and adopted in the first reading in October.
On November 19, a meeting was reported with Alexei Nechaev from the New People party, where Putin allegedly discussed support for the budget, although by that time it had already been approved.
Similarly, the meeting with the leader of the LDPR Leonid Slutsky, when he was simultaneously speaking in the State Duma, raises doubts. It is worth noting that Putin's absence from the public arena coincides with increased international pressure on Russia. In particular, this concerns the US decision to transfer ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, which could be used to strike Russian territory.
The Kremlin is likely resorting to publishing “canned” materials to hide internal problems and create the illusion of stability, but such actions increase doubts about Putin's real involvement in current processes.
“Where Putin is in these troubled days, when the war with Ukraine is entering a new round of escalation, and what he is doing, apparently only his security and a narrow circle of close associates know,” — writes Faridaily.
Earlier it was reported that Putin could take revenge for permission to strike ATACMS in the Russian Federation: an expert predicted the dictator's actions.
