👀 Has anyone seen Putin?

The Russian leader is appearing less frequently in public

Hello and welcome to your essential guide to Russian politics and economics! This time we look at:

• A big fall in the number of public appearances by the Russian leader in 2026, and why this might lead to political problems;

• A push to force universities to recruit 2 percent of their students for the military— particularly the country’s newly-created drone forces.

We also highlight data showing the Russian economy continues to stagnate, and how payouts to student mothers are supposed to help solve Russia’s demographic problem.

This newsletter contains 1667 words and will take about 8 minutes to read. It was translated and edited by Howard Amos.

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Putin’s public appearances drop 24% in last 3 months

The Russian leader’s preference for geopolitics and closed-door meetings could end up increasing the political risks facing the regime.

The number of times Russian President Vladimir Putin has appeared in public was significantly down in the first three months of this year, according to a tally by Faridaily. The noticeable absence is likely to not only be the result of Putin’s obsession with geopolitics—particularly the war in Ukraine—but also a desire to avoid association with unpopular domestic issues, and a growing preference for secrecy.

“The advantage of authoritarianism is that no one owes anyone any explanations,” said a source close to the Kremlin.

In the first three months of this year, Putin has taken part in just 54 public meetings and events—compared to 71 in the same period last year. In 2024, he attended 107 public events, but this number was so high partly because of campaigning in the run-up to presidential elections in March. Before the full-scale war in Ukraine and the coronavirus epidemic, Putin also tended to participate in more public events (for example, in 2019, he was seen 87 times in the first three months of the year).

We reached these numbers by counting the press releases and transcripts on the Kremlin website. We did not include pre-recorded bilateral meetings—so-called “canned” events—that are often released weeks, or even months, after they take place (this helps create the illusion that Putin, 73, is always hard at work). Even if you do include the “canned” events, though, Putin has still attended 20 percent fewer public events this year.