Overview
- Newly released Kremlin footage shows Vladimir Putin arriving at a Moscow hotel with flowers, greeting former German teacher Vera Gurevich, and personally driving her to a dinner at the Kremlin.
- Russian officials rejected European intelligence-based claims that Putin had been living in secure bunkers over coup or assassination fears, presenting the clip as a visual rebuttal.
- The encounter featured small talk with a man portrayed as a passer-by from Sochi, a detail that suggested a casual outing with minimal security.
- Independent outlet Agency identified that man as Alexander Bazarny, linked to firms that managed properties associated with Putin and Alina Kabaeva, raising questions about staging.
- The video spread widely online and split opinion, and its release followed Russia’s Victory Day events, a holiday that marks the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany.