Kremlin edits video of Putin’s Mariupol visit to remove woman’s cry of ‘It’s all for show!’

The Kremlin’s press service has edited its official video of Vladimir Putin’s purportedly spontaneous meeting with Mariupol residents, removing a portion during which a woman’s voice could be heard shouting “It’s not real! It’s all for show!” in a previous version.

The original version of the video was published on the Kremlin’s website and shared widely by Russia’s pro-government media.

According to the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin visited Mariupol late at night on March 18–19. The president’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, told journalists that the trip was “spontaneous.” 

During his visit, Putin visited a recently-constructed area of the city called Nevsky, which one of the “residents” seen in the video refers to as a “little piece of heaven.” According to journalists, Nevsky is “essentially the only” part of Mariupol that’s been rebuilt since the city was destroyed during Russia’s occupation last year.