ISW: Putin seeks scapegoats for Russia’s struggle to address equipment, technological shortages
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Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly criticized Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov for aviation companies not receiving state orders during a cabinet of ministers meeting on Jan. 11. Putin said that some busineses have yet to receive state orders for 2023 and are not hiring more staff or preparing to increase output for potential orders in the future.
Putin also interrupted Manturov’s explanation that the ministry had already drafted orders for civil and military industries, leading Manturov to admit that Russia had not issued a portion of documents for aircraft manufactures that would approve state funding for their projects.
"This incident is likely part of an ongoing Kremlin information campaign to elevate Putin’s image as an involved wartime leader," the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest update. "The Kremlin could have cut out the disagreement from its official transcript (as it often does for most of Putin’s meetings, which are heavily edited and stage managed), but chose to publicize Putin’s harsh response, possibly to identify other officials within the Kremlin as the culprits for Russian defense industrial base’s challenges and possibly to threaten other officials."
