Russian Media Releases Footage of Putin Kissing Adoring Female Fan After Wagner Coup
After the fallout of the recent Wagner mutiny, Russian state media and the Kremlin shared footage this week of President Vladimir Putin greeting and kissing crowds of adoring fans.
The Russian president was filmed shaking hands with citizens of the Republic of Dagestan. In one clip that went viral from on social media, Putin is seen kissing a teenage girl on the head, while she enthusiastically snaps a selfie with the Russian autocrat.
The propaganda event took place in the city of Derbent, where Putin meet with local officials to show that he still remains in power and is adored by the Russian public.
BBC Journalist Francis Scarr wrote on Twitter, “The message his trip to Dagestan is meant to send out is clear: Things are back to normal and the people are with me.”
Putin reiterated that message in a remark to Russian State media, stating, “I had no doubts what the reaction in Dagestan and the entire country would be.”
State TV reporter Pavel Zarubin has just posted this clip of Putin “meeting the people of Derbent” after he held a meeting on tourism there with local officials
The message his trip to Dagestan is meant to send out is clear: Things are back to normal and the people are with me pic.twitter.com/qKeNvvussQ
— Francis Scarr (@francis_scarr) June 28, 2023
Residents of Derbent enthusiastically greeted Putin, literally surrounded him, the president talked to them
— 🇷🇺 Эсса Али 🆉 Essa Ali 🇦🇪 (@ESSA_A1I) June 28, 2023
The visit nearly a week after the armed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group and the attempted march onto Moscow, which spun the entire country into chaos. However, by Saturday tensions had cool when Mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin called off his troops after agreeing to a peace deal with the Kremlin.
Currently, top Russian generals who may have cooperated with the Wagner group have gone missing while Prigozhin remains in exile in Belarus. The uprising was the most significant threat to Putin’s regime since he took power over twenty years ago.
