Kremlin reportedly holds internal seminar on crafting ‘victory narrative’ and preparing for war’s end

The Putin administration held a four-day seminar last week for deputy governors to discuss a potential “victory narrative” for the war in Ukraine, Kommersant and Vedomosti reported on Monday.

According to the outlets’ sources, the entire leadership of Putin’s domestic politics team attended the event. One source told Kommersant that while various parts of Russian society hold differing views on the war, the Kremlin intends to focus its messaging on the “calm majority.” This demographic, the administration believes, will view the achievement of the president’s stated goals (the “denazification and demilitarization” of Ukraine) and the retention of Russia’s “new territories” as acceptable outcomes of the war. “The presidential administration is operating on the premise that the end of the special military operation is inevitable and that it’s important to be prepared for it,” the source explained.

The deputy governors were also reportedly briefed on the importance of shaping public opinion regarding soldiers returning from Ukraine. The seminar emphasized the need to ensure rehabilitation services and employment for veterans to prevent them from joining protest movements or engaging in criminal activities, the sources said.

Additionally, the administration presented key performance indicators for the 2026 elections, setting a minimum target of 55 percent voter turnout and at least 55 percent of the official vote for the ruling United Russia party.

Finally, Vedomosti reported that the seminar addressed managing “problematic situations” and countering “external threats.” A communication exercise reportedly involved a simulation based on recent unrest in a village in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region, where anti-Roma riots occurred in October after the murder of a local taxi driver. A source noted that interethnic tensions were identified as a potential vulnerability that Russia’s adversaries might exploit to fuel instability.