1/ Gas prices were lowered, restrictions were lifted, and queues vanished temporarily for a visit to Irkutsk by Vladimir Putin. Russians are calling it a modern-day Potemkin village, but it appears to show how hard Putin's underlings try to hide Russia's problems from him. ⬇️
2/ The original Potemkin villages were said to be fakeside river towns built by Grigory Potemkin to fool Empress Catherine the Great in 1787 (though it appears to be a myth). However, it was an attempt to fake success, rather than hiding failure from a leader inhabiting a bubble. 3/ The Russian Telegram channel 'Honesty, and that's final' reports on unusual events that happened during Putin's recent visit to the western Siberian city of Irkutsk: 4/ "During Vladimir Putin's visit to Irkutsk, a true "economic miracle" occurred. At some gas station signs, AI-95 suddenly "dropped" to 68 rubles 80 kopecks [$0.88], queues seemingly vanished, and restrictions on fuel sales seemingly disappeared. 5/ Authorities rushed to report "market stabilisation" after emergency fuel deliveries. However, local residents, seeing prices on the boards that didn't match what they actually pay, reacted not with delight, but with nervous laughter. 6/ "Social media users immediately recalled an old Russian tradition: for the arrival of a high-ranking official, not only can the asphalt be repaved overnight, but the price tags can also be rewritten. 7/ "The ironic question of the day was: "The asphalt has been blackened, gasoline has become cheaper... So who's coming to visit us?" 8/ It seems the "Potemkin village" tradition hasn't disappeared —it's just that now, instead of freshly painted facades, they're sprucing up the gas station signboards. 9/ "The main thing is that the image looks convincing. What happens beyond the motorcade's route is a whole other story." 10/ Warblogger Oleg Tsarov isn't impressed, however, pointing out the negative effects of such an initiative: "Gas prices at gas stations were lowered in time for the president's arrival in Irkutsk. There are photos and videos." 11/ "If this is true, it's very bad. Lying is our biggest problem. Window dressing must be mercilessly punished." Sources: 🔹 t.me 🔹 t.me