As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to be an embarrassing failure for Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader has reportedly adopted a new tactic for asserting his tough guy image: yelling at subordinates whenever they’re right about something and he’s wrong. That’s one way to distract from reports that Putin fell down the steps and pooped himself, we guess.
During a meeting with Russian officials on Wednesday, Putin reportedly flipped out when Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov publicly corrected him not once, but three times over the state of construction projects for a new aircraft. Putin insisted that there are no new construction orders for 2023, which is not the case, and he did not respond well when Manturoy repeatedly informed him that there are orders ready for the year.
Via The Daily Beast:
“Let’s finish this, what’s the point of sparring here with you? The directors told me [there are no contracts]. Really, why are you playing the fool?” he scolded Manturov, demanding he get the job in a month and “no later.”
Russian state media appeared to seize on the confrontation to play up Putin’s macho image, reporting on his dressing down of Manturov but leaving out the trade minister’s initial comments that there were in fact contracts for the year.
Put also tried to save face by declaring that all of the problems Russian forces are facing in the Ukraine are about to be fixed any minute now. Everything’s going to be cool. Don’t even worry about it.
“None of what our enemy predicted for us happened,” Putin said. “And this is, of course, thanks primarily to the citizens of Russia, their composure, all of our composure, readiness for challenges and to work in difficult conditions.”
(Via The Daily Beast)