The key points
- “The organizers of the unrest will regret it”
- The commitment on the environmental front: fewer gas emissions than European ones
- “Equality on the strategic armaments front”
“I will say only a few words on international issues – Putin immediately clarifies -. My speech will be dedicated above all to internal problems ». A few words, but with a very clear message: Russia does not want to “burn the bridges”, but if provoked it will respond harshly. “We are patient and responsible – Putin warned – but do not cross the red line”. Even more harsh against those who threaten the stability of the country from within, the “provocateurs” committed to shaking the boat: “The organizers of any provocation that threatens interests at the heart of our security will regret having done so, as they have never regretted other, ”said the head of the Kremlin.
They re-launched the challenge just today. And in fact, while Putin was speaking, the first of the demonstrators who met in the main squares of more than a hundred Russian cities, were already arrested at 19 local time: at noon in Moscow (11 Italian) the first rallies would therefore start in the ‘Russian Far East, in Vladivostok and Khabarovsk. There should be almost half a million, according to the accessions collected online by Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Fund. They return to the streets to support the request of the opponent on hunger strike since March 31: to have access to a trusted doctor, in the prison hospital in the Vladimir region where Navalny was transferred at the beginning of the week.
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Two parallel realities
From the Manege Square under the Kremlin walls, from the hall where Putin spoke, the protest seemed a parallel reality, alien to the center of power that listened to its only point of reference. Absorbed almost exclusively by the need to maintain the support of the front which does not protest, and which considers the condemnation inflicted on Navalny to be just, Putin constantly kept his eyes on the parliamentary elections in September while addressing the assembled Chambers, the governors of the regions, the ministers and all the highest offices of the state.
Populist, attentive to the environment, energetic, so he wanted to appear. At one point he even used the word “mercy”. He faced the health crisis and the test the Russians have been called to face, profusely thanking volunteers and medical staff, promising salary increases and new hospitals. He begged everyone to get vaccinated. He proclaimed the institution of the “Day of Emergency Ward Workers”. Few masks, in the stalls: but in order to enter the riding school, the anti-Covid tests required were three.
“Sorry if I talk about things of everyday life, but that’s what people live on”: Putin repeated several times that the priority is to increase incomes and improve the standard of living. He spoke at length about the world of schools, promised aid to families with children, to couples who will help to curb the demographic decline. For each schoolboy, a family will receive 10,000 rubles (just over 100 euros) once, next August (just one month before the vote).