Russian government employees were forced to report on their greetings to Putin
Employees of Russian state-funded organizations and activists from pro-government movements were required to wish Vladimir Putin a happy birthday and report on their progress toward meeting their targets. An internal working document detailing the events held was published by the Telegram channel “Dozor in Volgograd.”
According to the table, various types of birthday greetings were to be posted by employees of the Volgograd Region Youth Policy Committee, the “Sozvezdiye” Youth Center, members of the “Medical Volunteers” movement, university students, and others. The formats included video greetings, flash mobs, and social media posts.
In addition to the type and name of the event marking Putin’s 74th birthday, organizers were required to specify the number of participants, links to the posts, and the contact information of the person in charge. The document indicates that reports were to be submitted by organizations and activists throughout the Russian Federation, as well as from the self-proclaimed “DPR.”
Journalists also published the “technical guidelines” for the creators of the video greetings. They were required to talk about themselves, explain how Putin’s example had influenced their work, and then thank the president and wish him a happy birthday. The message was supposed to come across as a “personal, sincere first-person account” rather than an official speech.
As a result, on October 7, hundreds of identical videos congratulating Putin appeared on Russian social media. According to the “Chelyabinsk of the Future” channel, the phrase “good health and boundless energy” directed at the president was mentioned more than 1,600 times on Telegram that day.
According to the channel, government agencies and pro-Kremlin organizations received “guidelines” requiring them to post greetings with the hashtag “CongratulationsToThePresident.”
For example, in Bashkortostan, government employees were required to post such messages on “VKontakte” from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Each government agency was required to make one such post.
An employee of the administration of one of the districts in the Vladimir Region published instructions for officials on how to publicly congratulate Putin. The congratulatory posts had to be posted on personal “VKontakte” pages, and posts in groups “would not be accepted.” In addition to the greeting itself, officials were required to include themed photos and videos along with the appropriate hashtag.
Source: the Telegram channel “Dozor in Volgograd.”
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