Putin sends a message to the world with a ‘spontaneous’ election announcement.

When Vladimir Putin, the most powerful leader in Russia, announced his desire to remain in the Kremlin for at least another six years as the head of the world’s most significant nuclear power, he did not even glance at a television camera.

A number of the men and mothers of those who had lost their lives in Ukraine rushed up to one of the most closely guarded leaders in the world, who was located in the Grand Kremlin Palace after they had pinned the gold star “Hero of Russia” medals on the lapels of troops who had fought overseas in Ukraine.

“You are our president; we are your team,” Artyom Zhoga, a lieutenant colonel who was born in Ukraine during the Soviet era and now fights for Russia, said to Putin in an attempt to convince him to run for reelection. You are essential to us. Russia needs you.”

Putin is grateful to him.

“I will not conceal the fact that I have experienced a variety of ideas at various times, but it is now time for me to make a decision. His comments were silenced, but a nearby microphone caught them up, and Putin responded with his back to the camera. “I will run for the post of president,” Putin stated.

Other people, such as Sapizhat Mazayeva, the mother of a slain soldier who was honored as a hero of Russia, conveyed to the 71-year-old president and former KGB spy that his work needed to be maintained.

Some Kremlin watchers think that Putin’s presentation setting, which included decorated soldiers and the mothers of fallen soldiers, may reveal how he feels about his authority. Additionally, some Kremlin watchers believe it may offer indicators about the future of the conflict in Ukraine.

“Putin is going to the polls as a military leader of a country that is at war,” said Sergei Markov, a longtime advisor to the Kremlin.

“This is exactly what the choice of the place of Putin’s statement says: at the request of officers, heroes of Russia, heroes of the war in Donbas.”

The sheer fact that Zhoga, who was born in Donetsk and whose Sparta Battalion fought alongside Russian-backed troops in eastern Ukraine before the 2022 invasion, agreed to run for president at Zhoga’s request, according to Markov, suggested that Putin planned to gain control of the whole Donbas area.

At the present moment, Russia exercises authority over a little less than a fifth of Ukraine, which includes Crimea, which Russia occupied in 2014. On the other hand, Russian forces do not have complete authority over the whole Donbas region, including the Luhansk and Donetsk provinces.

Even though Kyiv’s counteroffensive this year has not been successful in penetrating Russian lines, Ukraine has stated that it will not stop fighting until every enemy soldier is eliminated.

THE RUSSIA OF PUTIN
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, stated that the statement was made on the spur of the moment and disputed that the scenario had been pre-prepared. Peskov has recently stated that he hoped that Putin would run for president.

A question was posed to him, and he took the time to respond. Peskov stated, “Well, yes, it is done in a completely spontaneous manner.” “He reacted to the appeals of heroic people, so yes, it was a reaction to the appeals of people.”

According to political observers, how the revelation was made, in which Putin admitted that he was carrying the burden of office, also provided signals about the Kremlin’s perspectives from the perspective of domestic politics.

“The television puts it in context: a modest Putin, occupied with real affairs,” said Tatiana Stanovaya, the founder of the R.Politik consultancy. “The TV puts it in context.”

Putin, whom Boris Yeltsin gave the presidency on the final day of 1999, has already served as president for a more extended period than any previous ruler of Russia since Josef Stalin. He has even surpassed Leonid Brezhnev’s term from 1964 to 1982.

Putin was able to emphasize that his leadership would be required as Russia squared up against the West in the most significant conflict since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. He did this by assenting to the requests of soldiers fighting in Ukraine.

“You can see that Russia and Putin, at the head of Russia, have led a process of tectonic changes, tectonic shifts,” according to Peskov. “Russia is very determined to defend its interests.”

Putin portrays himself as a leader who has saved Russia from the downward spiral of catastrophic collapse that followed the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. This self-perception is prevalent inside Russia. Polls indicate that he has approval ratings that are higher than 80 percent.

Putin was not portrayed as accompanied by high-ranking officials but by troops serving in front-line positions, even though Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was present in the glittering Georgievsky Hall for the award presentation.

“Today, under the arches of the Georgievsky Hall of the Kremlin, which embodies the greatness of Russia’s military glory, we honour the heroes of our Fatherland,” stated Russian President Putin.

“I am convinced that together we will definitely achieve all our goals.”