🪖 Why Putin thinks wearing camouflage will impress Trump

Hello and welcome to your essential guide to Russian politics and economics! This time we are looking at:

• Why Putin dresses more and more often in military uniform, and why he has taken to being seen at more military-themed meetings;

• The reasons for the ruble’s strength this year. Can it last?

We also briefly look at new data on Russian military spending, a rare street protest against the Orthodox Church, and the first foreign company to be designated “extremist.”

This newsletter contains 2114 words—it will take about 10 minutes to read.

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Putin’s increasingly frequent military PR-stunts

The “militarization” of Putin’s media activity is supposed to bolster his image as a wartime leader and convince the White House that Russia is winning on the battlefield.

There has been a significant uptick in the number of public meetings about the Ukraine war involving President Vladimir Putin over the last three months, according to a tally by Faridaily. The Russian leader has also been seen far more often in military uniform.

Putin held two such meetings about the war in October (1, 2), one in November (3), and two so far this month (4, 5)—a total of five. In comparison, he had just four such meetings in the entire first two years of the war (2022 and 2023). Similarly, in the same October-December period, Putin appeared in public wearing a military uniform three times. Until the beginning of this year, he had only ever been seen in civilian clothes.

Being shown as more directly involved in the military effort is a tactic supposed to bolster Putin’s image as a successful commander-in-chief, and broadcast confidence that Russia is winning the war. And this is designed to strengthen the Kremlin’s negotiating position in ongoing peace talks. Above all, Putin seems to want to influence the thinking of U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration, which has stepped up its efforts to find a peace agreement acceptable to all sides of the conflict. The Kremlin wants to try and convince Washington that Ukraine’s capitulation on the battlefield is inevitable—so, Moscow should be allowed to dictate its terms for ending the war.

Unlike his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, whose sartorial choices changed after the full-scale invasion and is regularly seen in military attire, Putin has generally preferred to remain in a suit. The first time Putin donned a military uniform was in March, 2025, at a meeting when his generals informed him Russian forces were about to retake parts of Kursk region seized by Ukraine. This was also shortly after Trump’s return to the White House, and before one of the first visits to Moscow by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff.

At least circumstantially, there is evidence that Putin’s military outfits coincide with key moments in peace negotiations with Washington. He again put on a military uniform in November when details of Trump’s new peace plan were revealed. And in December a day before the Moscow visit by Witkoff and with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.