Russian President Vladimir Putin, who reportedly was frightened of the coronavirus and hid behind the Kremlin walls, emerges to declare victory.
MOSCOW — After months of coronavirus-related setbacks, Russian President Vladimir Putin was set to preside Wednesday over a long-awaited military blowout to celebrate 75 years since Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II.
In a triumphant address on the eve of the parade, Putin congratulated the nation on"the dignity with which you, the citizens of Russia, have passed through the most dangerous phase of the epidemic.""We are still in for a rough ride. We have yet to nip it in the bud. But the end is in sight. We can soon return to normal life," he said."And I hope that together we can solve any problem that arises in the future. We have already demonstrated we can do that.
Story continues"Everyone knows that this madness is being carried out for one person," Navalny wrote in a blog post Monday."This parade has one viewer. He is sitting in his bunker. He stayed there for two and half months because he was afraid of getting infected himself." With confused messaging swirling around the Russian media, almost no one seems to be wearing masks or taking distancing measures of any kind in central Moscow as people flood back into shopping centers, as well as terraces for summer drinks.
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