JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russians Were Urged to Return to Normal Life. Except for Putin.” – New York Times/ Anton Troianovski

“The Russian leader claims to be conquering the pandemic, but he inhabits a virus-free bubble, rarely leaving home. The few people he meets must quarantine first.”

“… The Federal Protective Service … has helped build a virus-free bubble around … Putin … far outstrip[ping] … foreign counterparts. Russian journalists … have not seen him up close since March. The few … who meet him face-to-face generally spend as much as two weeks in quarantine first. [Putin] still conducts … meetings with senior officials … by video link from … his residence outside Moscow … outfitted with …[a] disinfectant tunnel. … The contrast between … Putin and … his people … looms large, as a second wave of the pandemic threatens to wash over Russia. In Moscow, where people packed … [public establishments] all summer with few masks … daily reported new cases [recently] tripled to more than 2,300 …. Peskov hint[s] … that [Putin] would only resume foreign travel after he gets a Covid-19 vaccine[] [b]ut … that … Putin was not ready to get the shot yet ….”

Click here for: “Russians Were Urged to Return to Normal Life. Except for Putin. The Russian leader claims to be conquering the pandemic, but he inhabits a virus-free bubble, rarely leaving home. The few people he meets must quarantine first.” – New York Times/ Anton Troianovski