Author: Presidential Press and Information Office
If the ads running on Russian TV right now are accurate, Putin’s press conference on Dec. 18 is going to be the most exciting thing this year.
That’s at least according to one ad, which was brought to our attention by Guardian reporter Shaun Walker. Walker noted, “Tweeted absurd tv [sic] trailer for Putin presser. Felt like idiot for not noticing it’s fake. Then realised [sic] it isn’t fake.” Some, including Michael McFaul, a former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, were inquisitive. “I too thought it was fake,” he replied.
Initially, it does seem to good to be true — it seems more like a trailer for a high-to-medium-budget action movie than anything. The 41-second ad opens dramatically with scenes from Ukraine and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, and moves (somewhat inexplicably) to scenes from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The soundtrack, however, is what really sets the mood. As Vox’s Max Fisher points out, “you really, really need to turn up the sound to hear the DA DA DUM, DA DA DUM soundtrack.” Once you’ve done that click the “play” button on the video below.
We’ll see what comes out of Thursday’s presser. Chances are it’ll be a lot of talk about the ruble, whose nosedive is arguably equally, if not more, dramatic.