70th anniversary
A tractor and bizarre congratulations – Putin’s sad birthday
Vladimir Putin turned 70 on October 7th
© Mikhail Metzel / Picture Alliance
Unlike usual, Vladimir Putin did not spend his birthday this year on vacation in Siberia, but in the halls of the Constantine Palace in Saint Petersburg. A day that says more about the situation in Russia than Putin would like.
Vladimir Putin turned 70 on Friday. The Russian head of state spent his anniversary in Saint Petersburg. In the Constantine Palace At an informal meeting he welcomed the heads of state of the republics that are members of the so-called Commonwealth of Independent States – an organization in which various successor states of the Soviet Union have joined together. The Presidents of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Prime Minister of Armenia congratulated Putin in their small circle.
The Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko had an unusual present in his luggage: a Belarusian tractor. Although Lukashenko did not drive the tractor to the Constantine Palace and only delivered a certificate, he was all the more picturesque. “This is the very best,” he said of his tractor. The President of Tajikistan was also creative in choosing gifts. He brought with him a giant pyramid of honeydew melons.
The President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, was among the first to congratulate him. Kim Jong Un also rushed to congratulate. The North Korean dictator sent a telegram. Russia is fighting the “threat from the United States and its vassals. This would be impossible without your leadership and will,” wrote one of modern Russia’s few remaining allies to Putin.
Vladimir Putin on his 70th birthday
© Alexei Danichev / Picture Alliance
Vladimir Putin’s nephew sends congratulations
In Russia itself, Putin’s second-degree nephew made sure that his uncle received a few demonstrative congratulations. Roman Putin is a former FSB officer, businessman and leader of the People Against Corruption party. It was already known at the beginning of September that he was preparing flash mobs and other activities for his powerful relative’s birthday. At that time, he created an “All-Russian Presidential Support Committee” and suggested that the “70th anniversary of our national leader” be duly celebrated. For this purpose, an action should be organized throughout Russia under the motto “We congratulate the President together”.
The Kremlin refrained from official celebrations. Instead, schoolchildren and students were brought to the square in front of the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg to record a birthday greeting to Putin. Video footage shows young people shouting “Happy Birthday” and forming the phrase “Putin is my President.”
Ramzan Kadyrov shows his appreciation
2500 pupils and students are said to have been rounded up for this action. Of the Telegram channel “Sota” reportedthat it was not clear to the participants to which sentence they were being formed. The teenagers were also given posters congratulating the president, calling Putin a “defender of the people.”
Coordinated actions also took place in other cities. In Ufa, the town hall was decorated with a huge poster of Putin. The same fate befell the stadium in Kazan. The Kremlin in Nizhny Novgorod transformed into an oversized map in the Russian tricolor on the night of October 7, adorned with patriotic quotes from Putin.
However, the Chechen republic earned first place among the most diligent well-wishers. There the authorities organized a patriotic “show of unity”. Before that, students at the state university were rounded up in a flash mob to lift a giant portrait of Putin over their heads. In the capital Grozny a marble plaque with Putin’s likeness was also unveiled – on the Putin prospectus. Newly promoted to colonel general, Ramzan Kadyrov sang the praises of Putin. The Kremlin chief plays a key role in the life of the Chechen people. Putin “saved the republic that had risen from the rubble and at the same time all of Russia from total violence, from international terrorism and banditry,” said the Chechen president.
A day that reveals a lot
The conclusion of a sobering day: In the 22nd year of his rule there are only ten heads of state who want to congratulate Putin on his anniversary. And in their own country, the congratulations come either on order from above or in an attempt to curry favor.