Putin’s motorcade stopped in Novosibirsk for a ‘spontaneous’ crowd of children. They had been waiting more than two hours — by a gas station with no gas.
Putin stopped his motorcade during a visit to Novosibirsk and got out to greet a crowd of local residents who had been waiting for him along the road. Eyewitness video shows the motorcade halted near an empty gas station where the price board had been switched off.
During a visit to Novosibirsk, Vladimir Putin stopped his motorcade and emerged to greet a crowd of residents, including many children who had been waiting for over two hours. The motorcade halted near an empty gas station with its price board switched off and no gasoline available. Propagandist Pavel Zarubin captured the encounter in a video, showing children surrounding Putin briefly before he left.
The footage was reportedly filmed en route to the airport. Eyewitnesses from nearby buildings filmed another video, revealing that people had anticipated Putin's arrival well before his motorcade passed. The Telegram channel Intsident Novosibirsk noted that children began gathering hours before Putin's arrival. Meanwhile, drivers in a blocked street waited alongside locals for a similar duration.
The same video showed that the event occurred near the empty Teboil gas station, which had no fuel. NDN.Info reported that some gas stations increased prices on Putin's visit day, while others ceased selling fuel entirely. Tatneft and Grand, which had sold AI-95 for 125 and 148 rubles per liter the previous day, stopped dispensing gasoline and turned off their price boards.
Some city gas stations reportedly lowered prices temporarily for Putin. Local residents complained about traffic jams resulting from road closures during Putin's visit. Armed men in camouflage reportedly accompanied Putin. Putin arrived in Novosibirsk the day after his previous stops in Kazan, Irkutsk, Omsk, Krasnoyarsk, and Ulan-Ude, marking his fifth city visit in two and a half weeks.
Ahead of his visit, workers rushed to repave roads, lay new sod, and repair sidewalks and building facades in Novosibirsk's city center. The Kremlin's press service often airs footage of Putin spontaneously interacting with ordinary citizens during his nationwide trips, though such moments are sometimes staged. Meduza is committed to transparency about the use of artificial intelligence in its newsroom, ensuring that this English-language story was written by a journalist and translated using an AI model adhering to strict editorial standards.
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