Putin turns 74 today. Officials and kindergarteners across Russia were forced to wish him a happy birthday.
Kindergarten children in several Russian regions were enlisted to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his 74th birthday, while officials received detailed instructions on how to phrase their messages, according to the independent Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo and the independent Russian news outlet Verstka.
Agentstvo identified more than 20 posts describing kindergarten events held for Putin’s birthday. Teachers told children about the “life journey of the head of state” and forced them to record congratulatory messages to Putin.
In Anadyr, children at one kindergarten congratulated Putin while kneeling on one knee. In Ulyanovsk, children thanked him for “peace” and “light.” Children in the village of Sokolovo, in the Volgograd region, made a poster for Putin reading “We congratulate the president.”
Ahead of October 7, officials received instructions on how to take part in the PozdravliaiuPrezidenta (“I Congratulate the President”) campaign. Yevgenia Khalilova, an official in the Vladimir region, posted the instructions on her page. They said Putin should be congratulated only through personal social media pages, and that well wishes posted through public pages “will not be accepted.” Agentstvo counted at least 1,100 posts using the hashtag #PozdravliaiuPrezidenta on VKontakte.
In Bashkortostan, the requirements for birthday messages were stricter. A guidance document reviewed by the Russian Telegram news channel Ostorozhno Novosti said all posts had to go up no later than 2:00 p.m. local time and include a quote from Putin about the region. Each institution had to produce one publication. The outlet counted at least 400 formulaic birthday messages from Bashkortostan within three hours.
Verstka also found that many of the posts from governors, lawmakers, and other officials were worded almost identically. More than 1,600 Telegram posts wished Putin “robust health and boundless energy.” The heads of several regions and State Duma deputies, as well as singer Nikolai Baskov, the Defenders of the Fatherland foundation, and Moscow Zoo director Svetlana Akulova, congratulated him using that same wording.
None of the officials who wished Putin “robust health” mentioned his age.
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