Putin's mandate renewed amid strict COVID protocols for inauguration

Participants attending Vladimir Putin's presidential inauguration must undergo PCR tests to ensure they are not infected with COVID-19. This requirement is a precautionary measure, and tests will be conducted the day before the ceremony. A Russian politician described this as a standard, one-time procedure.

As reported by the independent Russian newspaper The Moscow Times, Russia lifted COVID-19 pandemic restrictions nearly two years ago. However, participants in Vladimir Putin's presidential inauguration are still mandated to undergo PCR testing.

Andrei Klishas, the Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, announced that all guests invited to the head of state's inauguration on May 6th must take PCR tests the day before the event. "The inauguration is on May 6th. There will be information about tests. It's a standard procedure, just once. It will be on the fifth," stated Klishas, as quoted by the Russian state agency TASS.

This event marks President Vladimir Putin's fifth inauguration, with 87 percent of Russian support in the March elections, according to "The Moscow Times." Mark Galeotti, a leading British expert on Russia, remarked on the election results in March, suggesting that while an unexpected event could potentially end Putin's reign, it is unlikely Russia would become a democratic country for at least another generation.

Hard data is scarce, but Galeotti estimated that about a quarter of Russians support the war—not necessarily endorsing war crimes but accepting the official narrative. Another quarter is against the war, with the vast majority not actively protesting, requiring increasing courage. Approximately half of the Russian population tries to remain indifferent or uninformed about the war. Galeotti described this as a distinctly Soviet instinct.