Mixed messages in Moscow ahead of public holidays
In a move that has caused confusion and ridicule, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin has urged residents of the Russian capital to stay at home during two major public holidays this month. It comes after the city’s lockdown was unexpectedly lifted on Tuesday.
Sobyanin said Russia Day, celebrated today, and the upcoming Victory Day parade rescheduled for 24 June are best spent at home, even though major official events will be held in Moscow.
“I wouldn’t recommend going anywhere. Yes, official events will be held both on 12 June and on the day of the parade. But it would be better to watch them on TV,” Sobyanin told state-run Rossiya 24 TV.
Moscow continues to record a stubbornly high number of new Covid-19 cases each day.
President Vladimir Putin will take part in a flag-raising ceremony in Moscow today, before handing out state honours in the Kremlin.
On 24 June, a major parade will be held in Moscow, celebrating the USSR’s victory in World War Two. Moscow says 12 foreign leaders have confirmed their attendance, but has not named them.
Independent Russian media and social media users have linked Sobyanin’s abrupt lifting of Moscow’s restrictions to attempts to raise public morale ahead of Russia’s upcoming vote on constitutional amendments.
They have suggested that the Kremlin pushed Sobyanin to lift the measures – something it has denied.
One of the changes to be put before voters will allow President Vladimir Putin to stay in office beyond 2024, when his current term runs out.
