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Vladimir Putin PHOTO: Reuters
Have you ever wondered why, since the beginning of the new coronavirus pandemic, the head of state of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, has never appeared in a protective mask? The answer certainly cannot be hidden in oversight, commented the editors of the Swiss daily Die Neue Zurcher Zeitung. “For several months now, the Russian president has been doing everything possible to avoid becoming infected with the coronavirus. However, the population of the country does not take an example from him ”, concludes the publication, reports FOCUS.
Let vitality, good humor and optimism help Donald Trump fight the dangerous virus. With that wish, Putin addressed the president of the United States last Friday after it became known that he was infected with COVID-19. Deep down, however, the Kremlin leader is probably thinking about his colleague’s recklessness.
Vladimir Putin has never appeared in public wearing a mask. Nor does he avoid shaking hands. But such behavior has nothing to do with carelessness in a pandemic. Putin is obviously one of the heads of state who is making huge costs to protect himself as best he can from infection with the new coronavirus. The fact that in May he expressed his wish for the country to return to normal life as soon as possible stands in sharp contrast to his own daily life.
Since March this year, Putin has almost always worked from his residence near Moscow. Regular meetings with awards, ministers, senior officials, governors, and heads of state-owned companies, with a few exceptions, are held in the form of video conferences. The light beige interior of the windowless office and the large monitor are already well known to Russian viewers. The image of Putin, sometimes annoyingly touching a pen during monotonous ministerial reports, has gained an almost cult status among journalists. They had to pay attention to such trifles because they hadn’t had physical access to the president for months.
Virtually no one has the right to see Putin. He himself began to leave his residence much less frequently. He gave up all trips to regions with memorable “spontaneous” encounters on the streets. And if, however, the president meets with the deputies or presents an award, then the strictest health security measures are taken. Minimum requirement: Only people with a negative coronavirus test can enter the precinct where the president is located.
Still, the virus is circulating among high-ranking officials. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, several ministers and governors, and even Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov all tested positive for COVID-19. And those who keep in touch with Putin on a daily basis have been living far from their families for months.
As a Russian newspaper recently wrote, the meeting with Putin is preceded by a costly and time-consuming procedure that goes far beyond conventional security measures. You can only get to the president’s offices through a tunnel where disinfectant is sprayed, and this is the last stage. Those who are given the opportunity to appear in person before Putin must first spend two weeks isolated from the outside world.
In the spring, it took Putin time to understand the seriousness of what was happening. The infection ruined his year of constitutional reform and the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory in World War II. He himself acted as a supportive head of state and delegated the task of imposing unpopular restrictions on his subordinates. Still, he prematurely declared a “victory over the virus” to hold a military parade and vote on constitutional amendments.
And now Putin’s official doctrine boils down to the words “Everything is under control!” He said Russia was the first to introduce a vaccine to the world, although it is not yet fully complete. -19 But the number of positive tests is growing rapidly and has once again reached the drastic peak recorded in May, after months of calm and indifference to violations of the regime of use of masks, which has not been canceled, in shops and transport public people are scared again. with fines.
Putin has failed to instill vigilance in his compatriots.
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