Ever since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago, Vladimir Putin has had an unspoken deal with his people. The war might rage on but the lives of everyday Russians – especially in the big cities – would carry on as normal.
But now, as Russian affairs reporter Pjotr Sauer explains, that pact is being tested to the limit. The economy is stagnating. up to half a million men have been killed in Ukraine and, in recent months, in a further bid for control, access to the internet has been squeezed too. Muscovites are having to use paper maps to get around, and even walkie-talkies to communicate.
Amid all of it, he tells Helen Pidd, there are growing reports of the president’s increasing isolation and paranoia. Barely seen in public, a nickname for Putin has become more and more popular: ‘grandpa in a bunker’.
Could Putin – more or less in charge of Russia for the last 26 years – be losing his grip?