The master of the Kremlin has not coped with the main task.

Russia officially be on holiday. President Putin has several times appeared before his people and told him that everything was under control and the fight against cov he passed the governors. In the last 24 hours in the country was on 3448 infected more. The leader — Moscow, says Czech edition of Deník N (translation inosmi.ru).

Yesterday afternoon it happened for the first time. President Vladimir Putin looked confident leader. He informed the citizens that the situation is changing every day and not for the better. In this, in General, banal message would not be anything special if it hadn’t made the man who, as a rule, not recognized that it is not managed.

President and commander in chief of the armed forces of nuclear powers also told his citizens that he is ready to fight the coronavirus to involve the army. Its atmosphere and rhetoric of yesterday’s meeting with members of the government reminded the Council of war before the attack on the enemy. And there is almost nothing from the meeting of experts and crisis managers.

Moreover, this meeting for Putin, who generally loves such meetings with subordinates, was painful. It was held in videoconference mode. No personal contact during a pandemic unacceptable. But the Russian President need a live audience. In front of her he feels like a fish in water. Cool screens, where he look humble the officials cannot create the right atmosphere. Worse, the current situation does not give Putin the opportunity to show himself as a hero, macho and the winner.

Russia is incredibly quickly turned out of the country almost immune to coronavirus once the global epicenter of the disease. Daily statistics are not happy. Today is the second time in a row the number of cases over 24 hours increased by more than three thousand.

Every morning, millions of Russians are looking forward to that will inform operational staff on infection control. It is not just the numbers, and the recognition of politicians that the good times in Russia — in the past. People want to know what to do: they want of orders rather than discussions because they are not used to.

The bearer of bad news

There is a role Vladimir Putin, who has the support of its citizens for 20 years and expect it in the coming years, does not like to assume. It is the role of bearer of bad news. But now the other news, Russia will not hear. During coronavirus crisis, Putin has turned from a confident owner sarcastic smile of the nervous man with wrinkles on his forehead.

Since the beginning of the pandemic Vladimir Putin appealed to the public four times already. For the last time yesterday, he announced new economic measures to mitigate coronavirus crisis.

So, the state will support the victims of coronavirus sectors of the economy such as tourism, catering, hotel business, but, more importantly, small and medium enterprises. They will get from the state, first of all, the money for the payment of staff salaries in the amount of 12130 rubles per person. However, the company is applying for support has no right to dismiss more than ten percent of the staff. It is also planned to compile a list of strategic enterprises, which will offer loans on favorable terms under the state guarantees. 200 billion roubles will be distributed among Russian regions. 23 billion will give the airlines.

Putin has reasons for concern. The main source of government revenue of oil — less than usual. Nothing to give and nothing to buy the loyalty of citizens. Therefore, the words that those who lost due to coronavirus crisis, in may, will receive compensation for the April salary 12130 rubles, many Russians rather angered than reassured.

The prices even for basic foods have soared, and prices of medicines rose by 15%. According to estimates, in Russia more than 20 million people lost their income due to the current crisis. According to opposition politician Gennady Gudkov, if most of these people the President has helped at least 30 thousand rubles, the state would have lost approximately 650 million. “This is the fifth part of the cost of the Olympics in Sochi”, — said Gudkov.

How the government will respond to the nascent army of nearly 15.5 million unemployed (this is the forecast of the Russian National rating Agency at the time when the crisis will end and people will return to work), Putin has not told. But the Kremlin reigns concerns, because no one knows whether these people support Putin’s constitutional changes and to vote in the next election as Putin would like.

Fears of Putin’s team is also justified because all of the past presidential speeches, despite the obvious desire to attract, sounded extremely superficial. Yes, Putin promised all kinds of assistance, subsidy, deferral, but was not impressed with the steering that is trusted by the entire crew, knowing that he will guide him through the storm.

Instead of introducing different measures, what can be expected from the intelligence officer, Putin at first declared national holidays. For a week. Then extended them for a month. In the Constitution such thing as a forced vacation, no, and the laws about it too, nothing is written. Nobody knew what to do with this order: “Men, go and get some rest”.

Then followed the advice that people need to isolate themselves.

Finally Putin, the man who built his success on authoritarian autocracy, said that more detailed instructions people give the regional leaders. He seemed to hesitate revs “quarantine,” “state of emergency”, “the ban on leaving the house and closing schools and businesses.” Suppose, say, them others say.

Putin has not spoken in front of cameras and told the citizens what to do: lead them in a liberal way of combating coronavirus, such as, for example, in Sweden, where I left work schools and enterprises or, on the contrary it will prohibit everything that you can deny and close people home.

Putin did not say anything important. The most anticipated statement of the President until the end of the week is the report that the parade in honor of the 75th anniversary of the end of the so-called great Patriotic war postponed. In the current situation to take part in the celebrations would not have the veterans who are at risk.

President Putin chose not to prohibit, and freedom of action took advantage of some local leaders, such as Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. He went the opposite way. Kadyrov declared the virus war, imposed a curfew, and then practically forbidden people to go and day, sending into the streets their soldiers and citizens without masks ordered to beat them with sticks (after seeing a video about this, wandering in social networks, Putin had not commented on).

Moscow is ruled by a Governor Sobyanin

Moscow, the residence of Putin affected by coronavirus infection. Ambulances are standing for nine hours in the queue to transfer patients to the hospital.

Doctors say that they do not have enough supplies. Oil, which kept the state budget fell a few weeks ago. Now, when the eyes of the people glued to the television, to the fore is not the President, and Moscow mayor Sobyanin.

He heads the operational headquarters and many times per day gives orders, which are not always appropriate, but sound impressive. For example, the gaps. Due to the fact that on Wednesday the police are not missed because of them in the Moscow subway no soul, that people are not crowded inside, the passengers gathered in front of the stations in anticipation. The crowd was all bad, except for the virus. How many people because of this action against infection yesterday contracted, it is impossible to calculate.

But in General, the mayor does not idle. He immediately intervened, and today the entrance to the subway crowds were gone. Only had one order of the mayor.

The person in possession of the largest municipal budget in the country is one package after another. He acts decisively and boldly. It is coordinated by colleagues in the regions. It quoted Newspapers, and people know about his orders. It works and puts at the entrances to the capital police patrols. De facto it closes the city. He can afford it, as in his second address, President Putin gave at the time when the crisis was gaining momentum, all the powers to the solution of regional leaders.

Not all the responsibility was on the shoulder, and immediately after the President offered local leaders a significant part of the government, to resign voluntarily left the head of the Komi Republic, the Arkhangelsk region and Nenets Autonomous district.

Not alone they expected that now, when the country suffered probably the biggest crisis in the last 15 years, their powers, by contrast, cut down and the country into their own hands will be taken by the President. They expected clear instructions from the centre, as I used to. Especially over the past 20 years without the consent of the centre they were not even allowed to appoint heads of local post offices.

For 20 years, Putin builds a tightly centralized system in which he is indispensable. And then he says governors, mayors and heads of regions that they must become truly independent of top-managers and to act in a way that it tells them how to reason and experience. But it is precisely because experience tells them not to do anything that wouldn’t have pulled out of Moscow. In this assemblage bent backs stood out again as the mayor of Moscow Sobyanin.

“After all, the power of one who is really in control. And now my life is governed by the mayor of the city, says the commentator, “Echo of Moscow” Anton Orekh. — Act like you know, Mr mayor!” And S. today really has become the most visible face of Russian political arena. He is not afraid to assert that the situation is serious and no one knows where it will lead. But, they say, his Muscovites will not leave.

The current situation resembles the period when Putin came to power. When sank the submarine “Kursk” with the crew on Board, he was on vacation. Putin is not interrupted then the rest and disappeared from the media space.

The tragedy in Beslan, when terrorists killed hundreds of people, including children, the Russian President did not find it a compelling reason to be together with their citizens. He visited the memorial to the victims of the tragedy only once. When 2014 marks ten years since the attack on the school in Beslan, he was flown to the celebration in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Mongolian victory at Khalkhin -. When in Beslan for the 15th time she remembered their dead, Putin flew to the 80-th anniversary of victory at Khalkin-Gol.

Coronavirus Putin was caught off guard. He only gained public support for his proposed constitutional changes that would guarantee him a lifetime of power. A formal referendum about changes in the main law had planned to hold on April 22, and it was clear that voters will support the proposal of the head of state as well, as did the deputies of the State Duma and Federation Council members.

But the infection did not disassemble and scrapping the plans on a nationwide vote, but also deferred as important to Putin a military parade in honor of the 75th anniversary of the end of world war II. Both of these events had become for him a triumph that proves the rule.

Instead he has now to explain to people why he is with such fanfare was sending aid to the Italians, the Serbs and even the Americans if the Russian doctors no protective equipment, no effective modern equipment which are necessary for the treatment of severe patients. Now Russia will have to accept the U.S. proposal on the supply of the ventilator.

Instead of heroism inexperience

Climax scene of Putin’s advisors, headed by press Secretary Peskov poorly thought out, and showing a complete lack of foresight, brought him on March 24 at a modern hospital in Kommunarka near Moscow, they dressed the President in a yellow suit and showed him a patient infected Covid-19. However, after Putin’s departure it turned out that it was a doctor Dmitry Garkavi, fresh and cured miraculously in four days.

But the chief doctor Denis Protsenko, whom Putin greeted, shaking hands with him (press Secretary Peskov several times explained that for the President this greeting is so important that to refuse him, he may not), and they chased each other in the face at a distance of only several tens of centimeters, while riding in the Elevator, a week later stated that his test for coronavirus positive.

Few people have not noted the absurdity of the situation, when Putin, head to toe clad in plastic, comes to visit, as it turned out, the patient with the common cold, then as the head physician, with whom Putin talked for a long time without any protection, a few days announced that they have coronavirus. Amateurism, which reveals this scene, rushed into the eyes of all, judging by their social networks who saw her.

Most importantly, love me

The virus is gaining strength and has pushed Putin into the background. In its restrained “PR” has its logic: why let people know that every day they are dying more and all about the beautiful Russian medicine and great leadership, which is many times better than, say, an American, was able to cope with the situation, was, to say the least, inappropriate.

The days when a President could with impunity to save the Italian and American workers, using planes full of military experts on viral diseases, has also gone. Now, such actions on the background of the suffering of Russian patients, which, for example, in the Murmansk region wear electronic bracelets so that no one escaped from the quarantine would have looked inappropriate. Blame for failure must lie on someone else, but not someone who wants to remain at the helm of the country for a few years.

“Particularly nothing to brag about,” the President completely changed the tone when April 13, presided at one of the numerous meetings which discussed the fight against coronavirus. “The peak of the epidemic has not yet passed”, — he stated what everyone knows.

All the speeches, every step of the Russian President is consistent with his desire not to lose the sympathy of Russian voters, not to lose this unique popularity (even if it’s embellished state-controlled sociological surveys). But the desire to be loved in the moment when you need to act decisively and take very unpleasant measures, leads to the fact that Putin does not take any decisions. With the exception of the extension of national holidays until the end of April, against the background of sharply growing number of infected, looks sluggish initiative that seeks to take a purely defensive position.

Opposition media could not resist and compared the behavior with the flight of Stalin after the German attack on the USSR in 1941. Then the Generalissimo quickly went to his dacha and stayed there for a few days before he was convinced that at this moment his place in Moscow. He refused the immediate appeal to the people, and therefore, on June 22 the Soviet people approached foreign Minister Molotov. Why Stalin was silent? According to historians, he didn’t know what to say in such a difficult situation. It seems that the inability to stand at the head of the country in the most difficult moment, the Kremlin is inherited.

As stated by political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya from the Moscow Carnegie center, coronavirus crisis showed how Putin pulled back from the Russian reality from ordinary people. According to her, Putin “does not fight with the virus, and with falling ratings”.