in a post on Wire, pro-Kremlin analyst Alexei Chesnakov summarized Putin’s message ahead of his next six-year term in three words: “Sovereignty. Development. Unity.”
- who was there
Speaking of eternal recurrence, many of the faces in the crowd of several thousand people were the same as last time – Putin’s No fan of political renewal – With people associated with the war in Ukraine.
One notable attendee was Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who is rumored to have fallen out of favor with the Kremlin after his deputy was recently arrested on corruption charges.
Another eye-catching presence was that of Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, who was conspicuously absent From Putin’s address to the nation in February and he is said to be terminally ill.
Rather than dispel those rumors, Kadyrov was captured on camera helping him out of his coat, leading some to Comment He’s either so sick or so depraved (little wonder) that he can’t do it himself.
The list of foreign dignitaries reportedly included envoys from several European countries – France, Hungary, Slovakia, Malta, Cyprus and Greece – who are pressing Western countries on how to deal with Putin amid calls by Russia’s opposition to declare him an illegitimate. were indicating division between.