Russia expects Vladimir Putin to be the centre of attention during a crisis – so why isn't he?

The question is whether the country’s population will come to see the president’s low profile as an issue, writes Oliver Carroll

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has not been at the centre of Russia's political scene recently (AP)

The beginning of March almost feels like another century. In the weeks since political rules have been upended across the globe thanks to the coronavirus outbreak. Free democracies have embraced authoritarian restrictions to battle an invisible enemy. This new reality means lockdowns, phone tracking and even QR barcodes to leave the house.

Here in Russia, where things have always been more controlled, that previous reality feels more like a dress rehearsal for what we are facing now. Putin built his entire popular appeal – and authoritarian system – based on the idea that only his strong hand could save the nation from catastrophe.

His nation might have expected that now would be the time to do just that. Yet, Russia’s leader has largely excused himself from the scene.

Up until mid March, Putin appeared to ignore the coronavirus. In rare interventions, he dismissed talks of a local epidemic as “provocations”. The situation was under control. Russia would be an island of normality in a raging global sea; strong unlike the weakness displayed by adversaries.

The pandemic, of course, had other plans, and a sharp upward curve in Covid-19 cases led to an inevitable lockdown.

But when that happened, Mr Putin was nowhere to be seen. In a televised address a few days earlier on 28 March, the leader mumbled plans for seven days of “non-working” leave. He also offered a skeletal plan to help business through the crisis, but which in fact raised taxes.

In the end, it was left to Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, to look presidential and fill in some of the blanks.

Still, no one is wholly sure what the new regulations are or how they will be implemented. The confusion has even led some to describe the current national predicament as a “state of f*** knows”.

Mr Putin’s disappearance from the frontline has fuelled rumour. Noting the president has not been seen in public since late March, some publications have even speculated that the 67-year-old could himself be ill or, failing that, keeping a low profile somewhere.

The Kremlin’s most recent accounts of Mr Putin’s schedule are also interesting. On Sunday, for example, a spokesman said the president would be spending “at least another week” working in “near-isolation” in his residence. But the very next day, Mr Putin was said to have met two of his ministers in the Kremlin.

In footage and transcripts released to the media, the president was shown greeting the men with a handshake. There was no mention of coronavirus anywhere.

Given his centrality to politics in Russia, any perceived absence will make news. Less clear is how the mood in the country itself will change. Russians are a generally forgiving bunch when it comes to their politicians. That will change if coronavirus deaths rise and, god forbid, the health system buckles.

Yours,

Oliver Carroll

Moscow correspondent