Russian President Vladimir Putin explained the significance of how he chose to celebrate his 73rd birthday on Oct. 7, in response to a question by Russian TV host Pavel Zarubin at Putin’s Oct. 10 press conference in Dushanbe. Zarubin noted that Putin had spent his birthday “with the military at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, in the sepulcher with the tombs of Russian emperors, beginning with Peter the Great. Why there? And why with the military at that?”
Putin responded with a simple lesson in Russian history and culture, which its adversaries on the battlefield would do well to keep in mind: “I think it is clear why I was with the military. Because Russia’s fate is largely, is always exclusively in the hands of the Russian people. And right now, our military are in the foreground, on the frontline—in the literal and figurative sense of the word.”
Putin went on: “As you have noticed, I met with the commanders of all our groups of forces that are active on the line of engagement. I invited them to the Peter and Paul. Why? I think it is also clear. Because it was Peter I who laid the essential foundations of the contemporary Russian state, whatever you call it—the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union…. Meanwhile, our military in general—both commanders, soldiers and officers on the ground—are, in fact, defending what Peter I created and what his successors continued to strengthen.… That is, on that day we paid tribute to those persons who had made a unique, fundamental contribution to the establishment of our state.
“And then we just had a briefing with the military colleagues. They reported to me on the situation at each section of the front, the sections they were personally responsible for. Following the meeting, we had a luncheon together, while, in fact, continued the same conversation informally.”
