Vladimir Putin at a meeting with journalists. Photo: the official Kremlin website
Against the backdrop of declining ratings, Vladimir Putin has begun appearing in public more often. However, he still rarely travels to the regions, Faridaily reported.
In April and May, Putin took part in 60 public events, whereas in January-March there had been only 55, journalists reported, citing official publications by the Kremlin press service.
At the same time, over January-May as a whole, Putin held 22% fewer public events than in the same period of 2025. In 2024 and in pre-war 2019, there were one and a half times as many such meetings as there are now, according to Faridaily's calculations.
Putin's events in April and May. In May, the politician traveled abroad twice, to China and Kazakhstan. As journalists noted, both visits were ceremonial and gave Russian state media plenty of news hooks. By comparison, in the same period last year he did not leave the Russian Federation.
In addition, in May Putin met with his school German teacher, 94-year-old Vera Gurevich, as well as with Peng Pai, a now-grown boy from the PRC who first met the politician back in 2000.
Putin does not travel to the regions. At the same time, as journalists emphasized, the politician still avoids trips around Russia's regions. From January through May inclusive, he officially traveled outside Moscow only twice, and both times to St. Petersburg.
During the same period last year, Putin visited the regions eight times, in 2024 14 times, and in 2019 17 times, Faridaily calculated. If trips to his hometown are not counted, the politician's last regional visit was a trip to Samara in November 2025.
Putin's non-public activity. The politician has not started working less, but his priorities have probably changed, two of the journalists' sources suggested.
Recently, Putin has often held non-public meetings with widows of Russian servicemen killed in the war in Ukraine, as well as with combat veterans, taking part in efforts to help them adapt to civilian life, one Faridaily source said. Another source noted that the politician is also involved in non-public events related to high technology and AI, which have especially interested him lately.
Security concerns. In March, Faridaily had already drawn attention to the fact that Putin had begun appearing in public less often and traveling around Russia's regions less. According to an intelligence report from an unnamed European country, published by Vazhnye Istorii, CNN, and the Financial Times, this is connected with the politician's fears of a possible coup or assassination attempt.
Rating. According to VTsIOM, Putin's approval rating was declining for seven weeks through the end of April. As a result, it fell from 73.3% to 65.6%. After that, the state polling center began combining telephone surveys with door-to-door polling, and the rating started rising again.