“Why is Putin too kind?”: what to expect from Putin’s big press conference

Yakovenko told what to expect from Putin's press conference / Getty Images

The Kremlin claims that Vladimir Putin will hold a traditional major press conference. Of course, there will be no pressing questions. But they may try another “trick”.

Russian opposition journalist Igor Yakovenko told Channel 24 about this, noting that Vladimir Putin is gradually preparing for the elections. And at the press conference he will be presented, as always, as “kind” and “brilliant.”

What to expect from the press conference

As Yakovenko noted, it is clear that there will be no pressing issues at the press conference. However, the Kremlin may well drive “tame oppositionists” there so that they show that Putin can be asked any “inconvenient” question.

In general, it is likely that Putin may now be looking for “oppositionists” for the presidential election. So they want to show the world that in Russia people with different thoughts about the war can express themselves.

I do not exclude that the conditional Sobchak may take part in the electoral event in March 2024. The Kremlin will decide for itself who this anti-war candidate will be. It could be Nadezhdin, Yavlinsky, Sobchak. A man with a sign saying “0.5%,” said Yakovenko.

But you shouldn’t expect anything special from Putin’s press conference. In the future they will praise him and tell him how “wonderful” he is.

There will be no pressing questions at all. They will ask Putin if he is not tired of “his own genius”; when he is resting; why is he so “kind” and so on,” Yakovenko emphasized.

Elections in Russia: briefly

• Presidential elections are due to take place in Russia in March 2024. Putin has not yet announced his candidacy, but this is a formality.
• On November 14, he signed the law on the procedure for holding presidential elections. It says that “if martial law is introduced in part of the territory,” the Central Election Commission may postpone the voting.
• Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War have suggested what Putin's election campaign will be like. They believe he will avoid the topic of war and concentrate on stories about the “evil West” and “stability in Russia.”