As covid-19 spreads, Vladimir Putin is invisible
Russia’s indispensable leader is strangely absent from the fight against the pandemic
FOR THE past 20 years Russians have been told they could not survive without their superhero president, Vladimir Putin. Only a month ago, a Soviet-era cosmonaut-turned-politician urged parliament to lift constitutional restrictions that require him to step down as president in 2024. He was the only one who could save the country from crisis, she said, and should be allowed to run again and again.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “The invisible leader”
From the April 11th 2020 edition
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