In a post on Telegram, pro-Kremlin analyst Alexei Chesnakov summed up Putin’s message ahead of his upcoming six-year term in three words: “Sovereignty.” Development. Unit.”
- Who was there
Speaking of eternal recurrence, the crowd of several thousand contained many of the same faces as last time – Putin not being a fan of political renewal – as well as people linked to the war in Ukraine.
One notable attendee was Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who was rumored to have fallen out of favor with the Kremlin after his deputy was recently arrested on corruption charges.
Another appearance that attracted attention was that of Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, who was noticeably absent. Since Putin delivered his state of the nation address in February and is said to be terminally ill.
Rather than dispel these rumors, Kadyrov was filmed being helped to remove his coat, leading some to say he was either too ill or too despotic (hardly a surprise) to do it himself. even.
The list of foreign dignitaries reportedly includes envoys from several European countries – France, Hungary, Slovakia, Malta, Cyprus and Greece – hinting at divisions among Western countries over how to deal with Putin, as the Russian opposition calls for declare it illegitimate.
Politico
