In the 1 / 4 century of Vladimir Putin’s rule – he has been Prime Minister or President since August 1999 – ​​the previous KGB man has tried to clarify to the general public the Image of a robust man, Savior and Defender of the Russian people.

In fact, the “special military operation” in Ukraine, because the Kremlin described the invasionwas presented as a humanitarian project to Rescuing ethnic Russians in Ukraine.

But the fact is kind of different. Since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022, Putin's inability to guard the Russian population has been demonstrated again and again. Numerous cities in Russia, including Moscow, were victims of drone attacksIn June 2023 Head of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin led a short-lived mutiny during which rebel troops withdrew from Ukraine and marched through Russian cities, Cause casualties.

Perhaps the best humiliation for Putin was Ukraine’s rapid and sustained invasion of Russia’s Kursk region. Since August 6, 2024, Ukrainian forces have 490 square miles of Russian territorywhich ends up in the evacuation or escape of over 100,000 Russiansa few of whom reported feeling “left under attack” and frustrated by the media downplaying the seriousness of the situation.

The Ukrainian advance poses the best challenge to Putin's war narrative for the reason that invasion began. It also risks making the Russian president appear vulnerable and weak.

As Scientists of the post-Soviet statesI see echoes of the past in Putin's present. In crisis situations, Putin has often struggled to reply decisively and quickly to the needs of the Russian people. Ever since President Boris Yeltsin appointed the then-unknown apparatchik as prime minister on August 9, 1999, Putin seems more concerned with the parable of the savior than with actually saving lives.

The Battle of Kursk (New Edition)

Kursk plays a very important and complex role for Putin and Russia.

The Battle of Kursk of 1944 was a decisive Soviet victory within the “Great Patriotic War,” as many Russians call World War II. It is a robust symbol of the sacrifice and victory which have turn out to be a part of Russia's national identity. Identity under Putin.

Therefore, Ukraine's rapid advance within the region in recent weeks – capturing dozens of settlements and Russian soldiers – was a significant blow to Moscow. Russian media were quick to check the invasion of Kursk to that of Nazi Germany, underscoring the gravity of the situation.

But Putin’s response was slow and puzzling to many observers. After several days of silence and evasion, a visibly indignant Putin held a televised meeting with senior security officials and regional governors, where he demanded a “dignified response” and the payment of 10,000 rubles (150 US dollars) for the residents displaced by the invasionHowever, it was not until several days later that a mass evacuation or clear instructions got to the people of Kursk.

While the invasion of Kursk was underway, Putin delegated the “situation” for others. Instead, he traveled to Azerbaijan for a Meeting with President Ilham Aliyev and attended a Horticultural business.

Lessons from one other “Kursk”

Ukraine’s invasion of Kursk and Putin’s response to it are harking back to an earlier “Kursk” crisis: the sinking of the nuclear submarine that bears the region’s name in 2000. The Kursk sank during exercises within the Barents Sea after an explosion on 12 August 2000 within the torpedo hatch killed a lot of the 118-strong crew.

About 23 survivors of the primary explosion barricaded themselves in a compartment of the submarine and waited for rescue. The explosions were registered by seismographs in Europe and various countries offered to assist with the rescue. But Putin refused foreign help until it was too late. August 21, Norwegian divers When he reached the sunken submarine, he discovered that every one crew members were dead.

The Kursk disaster revealed what critics called “political paralysis“within the Kremlin, with Putin – only one yr after taking office – directly criticized for He remained silent concerning the disaster for days. He refused to interrupt his holiday in Sochi on the Black Sea and travelled to Yalta within the Ukrainian Crimea on 18 August – six days after the crisis broke out – to Informal meeting with the Heads of State and Government of the Commonwealth of Independent StatesThe host was the then President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma.

On August 23, 2000, a reluctant Putin met with families of the drowned crew of their hometown of Vidyayevo.

Despite strict controls on foreign media access, the uncomfortable exchanges between Putin and indignant, grieving moms were broadcast on Russian television. It was a Disaster for Putin’s image.

According to a witness, Putin was indignant concerning the media portrayal of him and accused the tv stations of “10 dollar whores“ to discredit him.

Failure within the face of terrorism

Since Putin's meeting with the victims' families in 2000, the tightly controlled Russian media have turn out to be way more supportive of the Kremlin's project of portraying Putin as a “protector.”

Following this narrative, pro-Putin media often portray Ukrainians in the present war as “Terrorists” And “Nazis.”

But Putin's handling of actual terrorist situations underscores his failure to guard Russian lives.

One example is his handling of the attack in Beslan, a city in North Ossetia, five years after he took office. On September 1, 2004, a gaggle of over 30 armed fighters stormed a college and took over 1,000 hostages, including children, teachers and a few members of the family.

The hostages were held within the gym without food or water until September 3, when Russian special forces entered the constructing. The siege ended with a chaotic fight wherein lots of of hostages were killed, including 186 children.

Survivors and relatives accused the Russian government, including Putin, of mishandling the situation and sued the federal government in European Court of Human RightsThe court ruled that the Russian government “they failed to protect the hostages.”

Disproportionate use of force, mismanagement and corruption are the leitmotifs in Russia's response to terrorist attacks. During Putin's 25-year rule, Russia experienced over a dozen terrorist attacksMost recently, an attack by members of the terrorist militia “Islamic State” on a concert in Moscow on March 22, 2024Beslan is by no means inferior when it comes to the variety of human lives lost.

Putin visited Beslan on August 20, 2024 and tried to link the present events in Kursk to the attack, saying: “Enemies are trying again to destabilize the country“Both cases have one thing in common: Putin was unable to protect the Russians.”

Protect the Russians or his image?

The Ukrainian invasion of the Kursk disaster, which has been successful to this point, is seriously jeopardizing Putin's image as a tricky protector – and never for the primary time.

Undoubtedly, Russian propaganda will do what it has to do to to guard the Russian president from a domestic audience.

But never before in Putin's 25-year rule has this image seemed so vulnerable. Here, the role of a protector is less apparent than that of a picture protector.