Kümmerer before the elections in March
Putin celebrates Christmas with war widows
January 7, 2024, 1:07 a.m
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Unlike in previous years, the Russian president does not spend his Christmas alone. This time Putin celebrates with families of fallen soldiers. Spokesman Peskov reveals: The Kremlin chief talked to the widows and orphans in “quite detail.”
According to official information, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with selected families of soldiers who died in Ukraine on Orthodox Christmas Eve. A program was initially organized for the relatives to attend training sessions and performances before Putin welcomed them to his Novo-Ogaryovo residence near Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in the evening, according to the Interfax news agency. Putin will celebrate Christmas mass together with the families in a church on the grounds of his residence.
Putin had previously had “a fairly detailed conversation with the families, talked to the widows and children,” said Peskov. He also invited the relatives to a Christmas dinner together.
In Russia, believers celebrate Orthodox Christmas on January 6th and 7th. While in previous years Putin visited various churches across Russia for Christmas, in the last two years he has celebrated the holiday either in the Moscow Kremlin or at his residence – both times alone. Putin’s invitation to the families of fallen soldiers is probably also intended to portray himself as concerned about their needs ahead of the upcoming presidential election.
Soldiers’ wives protest in Moscow
Earlier, around 15 wives of Russians fighting in Ukraine called in Moscow for their husbands to return from the front. They laid flowers on Saturday at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier just beneath the walls of the Kremlin. The police did not intervene. The anger of the relatives of reservists mobilized by President Vladimir Putin in September 2022 has been growing for months.
Russian state media has so far largely ignored women’s protests as the Kremlin seeks to project an image of national unity ahead of March’s presidential election. According to Putin, 244,000 Russians have been mobilized to fight in Ukraine, out of a total strength of 617,000 soldiers.