Desperate PR campaigns?
Half-naked shootings are no longer enough for Putin
Created: 12/19/2022 5:13 p.m
By: Tobias Utz
Putin needs success in the Ukraine war to survive politically.
New PR maneuvers show old patterns.
MOSCOW – Vladimir Putin has been justifying the invasion of Ukraine for more than nine months now.
His narrative is always marked by heroism, there is often talk of a "liberation".
So far, the basis of its appearance has been a stable political environment.
This seems to have been crumbling for quite some time.
In addition to possible successors who are apparently positioning themselves in the Kremlin, domestic political pressure is increasing.
In particular, the losses of the Russian army cannot be kept secret around the clock.
The Kremlin is therefore probably resorting to old methods: publicly positioning Putin as sporty, vital and sublime.
For example, in 2017, the president swam across a lake in the Tuva region of Siberia in a camouflage wet suit.
During a break on the jetty, he had his picture taken.
In the same area, Putin rode shirtless on a horse through the mountains in 2009.
Putin apparently wanted to prove his quick-wittedness in 2019.
At that time he took part in a judo training in Sochi.
He was finally photographed kneeling on his opponent.
Vladimir Putin is met with ridicule instead of applause
Putin's appearance on the Crimean Bridge serves as an example from the recent past.
The President drove a car across the bomb-damaged bridge to see the situation on the ground.
The impact of the PR event only unfolded on the Internet hours later, when activists revealed that Putin was driving a German-made Mercedes.
Putin had previously promoted Lada, a Russian car brand.
The manufacturer is considered to be badly hit, especially by western sanctions.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov explained afterwards that during Putin's visit, coincidentally, only the Mercedes was available and not his actual favorite brand.
Tuva region, southern part of Siberia: Vladimir Putin topless riding a horse.
(Archive photo) © imago stock & people / Imago Images
Putin's Kremlin PR had a similar experience when the President recently gave a speech with a glass of champagne in his hand.
On the occasion of honoring soldiers, the 70-year-old commented on Russia's bombing in the Ukraine conflict.
In view of the confused statements, it was subsequently said that Putin was drunk.
Economist Anders Åslund, who advised Putin's predecessor Boris Yeltsin as an Eastern Europe expert, explained on Twitter that "all Russians will see that he is drunk and weak".
Journalist Euan MacDonald, reporting for the news portal
New Voice of Ukraine
, also claimed that Putin was "obviously drunk".
Vladimir Putin: The macho image of the Russian president
View photo gallery
The Russian journalist Olga Bychkova assesses Moscow's desperate PR actions in particular on the basis of the canceled annual press conference: "The fact that the Kremlin is canceling Putin's big press conference is a sign: They realize how hopeless their situation is - this is a dead end, his plan is in the Ukraine failed,” she told the
Daily Beast
news portal .
“They still stand by him because without Putin they are finished;
but now they are not even able to write a script, think up questions and answers for him,” Bychkova said in her assessment.
Putin's popularity ratings are hardly verifiable
The
Moscow Times
news portal recently reported, citing Kremlin data, that the population is becoming increasingly skeptical about the Ukraine invasion.
In the age group between 18 and 45 in particular, displeasure with Putin's "special operation" is growing.
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According to surveys by the Russian think tank Levadu, around 79 percent of the population currently supports the Ukraine war.
Nevertheless, more and more people are calling for diplomatic solutions to the conflict: "Support for the Russian armed forces remains high.
At the same time, around half of those questioned would like peace negotiations to start,” the experts state in an analysis.
Meanwhile, state media, especially the
Tass
news agency , are saying that Putin is becoming more and more popular.
Editor's note
Parts of the information come from warring factions in the Ukraine conflict: These cannot be independently verified.
(do)