The annual Direct Line call-in TV show with Vladimir Putin had by 2021 become the only remaining bastion of public power in Russia. In a country without parliaments or courts, Russia’s president assumed the role of a miracle worker who solved problems live on TV, granting citizens’ requests for everything from new roofs to having gas installed in their homes — all the while reprimanding the governors who had failed to help them sooner.
The war in Ukraine led to a two year hiatus in presidential miracles, during which Putin began addressing Russians in a series of increasingly alarming speeches — each of which served to make people fear for their financial security and the wellbeing of their loved ones.