Denis Manturov received a public scolding from President Putin yesterday for the Deputy Prime Minister's inability to acquire more military planes. In his wrath, the Russian president even referred to him as "stupid."
The Trade and Industry Minister is questioned by Putin in the publicly available footage on the absence of "investment projects" for the aircraft's development. Manturov reiterated three times that they were moving, at which point the Russian leader lost his cool.
The conflict seems to be the case if the President and Deputy Prime Minister of Russia's relationship seemed strained during the meeting. It is caused in part by the nation's struggling economy, which is a consequence of heavy military spending, as well as the most recent setbacks Putin's military initiatives have encountered.
When President Putin started criticizing Manturov for what he saw to be the latter's tardiness in performing his responsibilities, the fallout's effects became obvious.
When Putin conveyed his annoyance at Mandurov's inability to get orders for new aircraft, the reprimanding process started.
He says, "There are no contracts," on the recording. What will you be telling me? The directors informed me that the firms don't have any contracts.
The Trade and Industry Minister made a brief joke about "investment projects" being handled aggressively.
Putin claimed Mandurov was mistaken despite this. The Russian President could no longer hold back and said, "Let's conclude this, what's the purpose of arguing here with you?..." as the Deputy Prime Minister attempted to remind him of his continuous efforts once again. Seriously, why are you being foolish?
He then demanded Mandurov complete his tasks by the end of the month and not a second later as a response to his criticism.
The aim was not Denis Mandurov. Sergei Surovikin, widely known as "General Armageddon," was demoted by the Russian president. General Valery Gerasimov will now take on his duties after receiving sanctions in 2014 for disrespecting the sovereignty of Ukraine.
Surovikin has also faced criticism for the harsh methods he used to crush resistance during Russia's invasion of Syria.
Putin doesn't often lose his composure, particularly not in public. Consequently, the video call moment that was captured on camera was unique.
However, the episode was quickly misrepresented by Russia's official state media, which omitted Mandurov's responses. It seems that the goal was to project a composed demeanor on behalf of the president of the nation. In other words, a leader who rules with an iron hand as opposed to one who is frantically trying to make up for the harm done during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The former KGB officer who ascended through the ranks to become Russia's top official sought to maintain that impression after the incident by asserting that any "issues" they had would be resolved quickly and that Russia had not lost the war.
"None of the things our enemies expected would happen to us...
Naturally, the Russian people's poise, our collective poise, and willingness to take on difficulties and work under challenging circumstances are principal to credit for this, he added.
Putin is renowned for such antics. Yet a little more than a year ago, he was the subject of public ridicule for trying to show off at a face-to-face encounter with France's President Emmanuel Macron at a very long dining table. Despite the boldness of his claims, nothing has happened yet to effectively compel Ukraine to relinquish or capture the salt mining town Soledar.
