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A day of record numbers of coronavirus infection is a strange time to announce a closure route, but that is what Vladimir Putin did on Monday when he announced that the “non-working days” imposed by the Kremlin in late March hit its end from Tuesday.
“We have a long and difficult process ahead with no margin for error,” Putin said by video from his residence outside Moscow on a day when the country registered more than 11,000 new infections. Russia now has the second highest infection rate in the world after the United States. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is among those hospitalized with the virus.
However, instead of an invitation to the Russians to return to the streets, Monday’s announcement appeared to be the latest tactic in Putin’s plan to delegate responsibility for addressing the crisis to local leaders, who he said would take their own decisions about when to end the block.
Certainly, Russia’s sheer size means that it doesn’t make much sense that the confinement restrictions in Vladivostok are tied to epidemic growth to seven time zones in Moscow. But Health Minister Tatiana Golikova later clarified that so far only 11 of Russia’s 85 regions had an epidemiological situation that could allow for loosening of restrictions, making Putin’s announcement seem like spending money.
“This is an abdication of responsibility, the architect of Russia’s hyper-presidential system suddenly discovers local authorities when it’s convenient,” said Mark Galeotti, an analyst from Russia and author of a book on Putin. “Putin is giving them the responsibility to fight the pandemic without the funds or the powers.”
Putin has rarely excelled in crisis management, dating back to the sinking of the Kursk submarine 20 years ago during his first months in office, and this one appears to be no different.
Since dressing in a yellow hazardous materials suit to visit coronavirus patients in March, Putin has largely confined himself to his residence, where he appears via video link to address the nation and the cabinet. Russians who are used to seeing their president on top of a horse or motorcycle, instead, see a Putin with a static screen that often seems boring.
Last week he was absentmindedly seen playing with a pen while his health minister discussed the regional response with him. Putin again appeared half-hearted on Monday when he simultaneously addressed the nation and his government. On several occasions he let out audible sighs in the middle of the sentence.
The virus asks difficult questions of the Kremlin and the political system built by Putin in the past two decades.
“Putin’s separate initial response to the spread of the coronavirus outbreak was at least in part the result of his staff’s tendency to disinfect information and portray events in the most optimistic way possible. Putin’s staff reports on his accomplishments, not his problems, “Tatiana Stanovaya wrote in a recent report for the Carnegie Moscow Center.
The coronavirus has also disrupted plans for a vote on constitutional amendments that would have paved the way for Putin to rule until 2036. That was set for April, but instead he found himself facing a pernicious, frustrating, and invisible enemy, and saw his approval. ratings slide.
“This is arguably the most serious challenge for Putin as a national leader in the 20 years that he has been in power, and he is failing it,” Galeotti said.
