Russian President Vladimir Putin "missed the UN General Assembly for military exercises," writes Andre Ballen on the pages of Handelsblatt. Accompanied by a number of generals, the president inspected the polygon near St. Petersburg. In the scenario, several abandoned subversive groups attacked the border airfields and captured many aircraft and drones, but the Russian army struck a counterblow and destroyed the enemy thanks to the coordinated actions of tanks, aviation and air defense. As commander of the troops of the Western Military District Colonel-General Andrei Kartapolov said, "the commander-in-chief and the Minister of Defense highly appreciated".

True, maneuvers, the author of the article notes, were marred by an accident: "The uncontrolled launch of a rocket from a helicopter destroyed the car and crippled several soldiers. State TV, which widely covered the exercise in other cases, ignored this incident ". Praise from Putin was very helpful, says the article.

Putin skillfully benefits from the "image of a strong army". "After successful operations in Syria and the annexation of the Crimea, the army is considered a symbol of power in Russian society, which is increasingly being set on an external enemy," writes Ballen. "In the light of the upcoming elections, the game with muscles brings pluses to Putin," the author emphasizes, reminding that he used similar methods before. For example, in 2012 he promised to achieve strong economic growth - which was never done - and rearm the army.

"Although the pre-election struggle has not officially begun yet, behind the scenes we are working on decorations for his candidacy, which, according to media reports, will be officially announced in November," continues Ballen. Probably, precisely for this reason Putin ignored the UN General Assembly and Trump's speech. As a result, "while he from the New York tribune promised to completely destroy the DPRK, Putin was engaged in demonstrating his power to the electorate".

Meanwhile, the inspection of troops was not the only event - in addition, Putin visited the defense concern Almaz-Antey, in order to congratulate the employees on the new "Gunsmith's Day" and demand from them the creation of new promising weapons for the Russian army ".

Another symbol of the military force, donated by Putin to his compatriots for the "Day of the Gunsmith", was an eight-meter monument to the armourer Mikhail Kalashnikov in the center of Moscow.

Liberals, such as the famous rock musician Andrei Makarevich, criticized the monument because of militarism, but the Russian minister of culture Medinsky stressed during the opening of the monument that "Kalashnikov is a true cultural brand of Russia".

"What seems strange in other countries is well perceived by the Russian electorate," says Ballen. According to recent polls, two-thirds of Russians would like to see Putin in the presidential seat after 2018. Six years ago, only one in three Russians spoke for Putin's return to the Kremlin, the article says..