how Vladimir Putin held a video conference session with participants in the aftermath of the explosion of the Crimean bridge

On the evening of July 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video-conferencing session (VKS) with participants in the aftermath of the undermining of the Crimean bridge. Special Correspondent “Kommersant” Andrey Kolesnikov watched the emergency meeting from the room where the videoconferencing took place.

The video conference call took place in the Kremlin’s First Building, in a hall that is now rarely used.

There used to be workshops here. But what just didn’t happen before COVID. Now there were not even chairs at the long table (a few stood against the wall). Yes, only remnants of former luxury could be seen here. Table for stenographers (but where are these old-school stenographers now?). From them (or still for them, because there may be everything, including this), just in case, there were even pencils and famous notebooks with a green top and a gilded inscription “Kremlin”, as well as microphones, which some good stenographers used to sometimes they let the journalists use it (one “ear” for themselves, the other for the correspondent), because not a damn thing could be heard from the other end of the table, as the photojournalists clicked the shutters tirelessly and defiantly right above the ear (now their cameras are silent, Certainly).

Another problem is the creaky parquet in the hall. That is, during the videoconferencing, moving along this parquet is a direct crime of office, especially if to the left of a long table. On the right, they say, the parquet creaks not so much. But it creaks. And sometimes you have to move anyway. But there are, there are professionals who are not heard. In the three years of COVID, the fight against which has not yet ended here (and there is no sign of it), some have honed their skills to the level of ballet and beyond. If necessary, there will be fuete.

There are inspiring prints on the walls. Colorized engraving by Simono after the original by Marten (younger): “Image of the battle between Russian and Swedish troops near Poltava on June 27, 1709.” Near Poltava, after all. Hanging, however, from the very beginning of the century. Maybe that’s when it started to inspire.

The wait here is not very long, they are ready for the videoconferencing from the other side: Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin (not dressed in uniform, but it’s necessary, because he’s from the scene), the head of Crimea Sergey Aksenov, the acting head of the Kherson region Vladimir Saldo, the governor Krasnodar Territory Veniamin Kondratyev, Minister of Transport Vitaly Savelyev.

The wait is short, yes, but he also needs to be killed with something. The operators talk about the desktops that they brought with them to the quarantine and which should have been at least opened during the quarantine, so that they could get acquainted with the rules. Well, they say that you can play Robinson Crusoe alone (But is it good, isn’t it disturbing for this one in quarantine?) …

Everyone is ready, and you catch yourself feeling that everything is so debugged here, right down to every half-word and a quarter of a glance, that you are superfluous here, but you are just some kind of interfering detail, and you even want to disappear, or something, so that the picture becomes again ideal. Or not, you don’t want to.

“As you know,” says the Russian president, “another terrorist act was committed on the bridge last night. Civilians were killed, a child was wounded and left without parents: the family went to the Crimea from the Belgorod region. I ask both the leadership of this region and the federal authorities to provide all necessary assistance to the injured girl, her relatives and take this issue under control.

The dead civilians are an argument. APU (Armed Forces of Ukraine.— “b”) argued that the bridge was of military importance and that it was therefore a legitimate target. But the girl and her parents…

“Because of the terrorist attack,” the president continues, “the roadbed on several spans of the Crimean bridge was seriously damaged, as a result, both automobile and railway traffic were temporarily stopped.

Taking into account the fact that the second terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge is already taking place, I am waiting for concrete proposals to improve the security of this strategically important transport facility.

Someone will have problems. Or already.

Marat Khusnullin is a person who will tell you everything, it seems that he knows, and your soul will feel light and calm forever.

– We examined all the damage on the spot, personally walked with the designers, with the builders: walked, looked at all the damaged parts of the bridge! – he says. – On both sides of the bridge, food points and dry closets are organized, water distribution is organized, ambulances are on duty. Temporary accommodation centers have been set up in Crimea. There are no traffic jams on the approaches to the bridge, the cars are in stationary parking lots. Explanatory work is being carried out together with the regional administrations, the regional administrations clearly keep the issue under control!

A little more, and it turns out that everything is better than it was.

“They launched a ferry crossing as usual for passengers and organized transportation by bus and for freight transport,” he explains. “The railway part of the bridge is operating as usual, trains run on schedule. One track has minor damage that does not affect the movement of trains. Railway builders conduct a survey to determine the scope of work. Road traffic has been suspended for the time being.

I would like to hear the essentials. But here it is, if that’s what you want:

– Based on the results of a visual inspection of the span supports, it was found that as a result of the terrorist attack, one span of the road part in the direction of Taman was completely destroyed and cannot be restored. Another span – from the second side in the direction of Kerch – was damaged, there was an axial displacement of 70-80 cm, but in general it is on a support. Builders and designers are conducting a full survey, divers are working. I can report that according to the first preliminary inspections of divers, there is no damage to the supports. This is very good information, that is, we expected the worst. Bases are in good condition!

This seems to be the most important thing.

“We plan,” he says, “by 24:00 today to complete the strengthening of the whole, damaged support, install a barrier, and partially organize the lighting of the bridge. Over the next day, we plan to fully restore the lighting of the bridge, we will finish all this work by 12 noon, Vladimir Vladimirovich.

Vladimir Vladimirovich endlessly writes and writes something on the text of his speech, on the list of invitees – first along, now across … Crosses out. What will be there at the end?

“If everything goes well, we will first launch passenger cars of three tons – test ones, then we will launch cars of five tons,” Mr. Khusnullin continues. Passengers and drivers in the parking lots are asking when we will start this. At one o’clock in the morning we will already have a complete picture.

This is kind of powerful news: this night there will be car traffic.

Moreover, the whole country is already working for Marat Khusnullin as usual (he is, after all, the vice-premier of the government of this country.— A.K.):

– In Rostov, special facilities are being completed for the assembly of sites for the enlarged assembly of superstructures. In the Voronezh region, we have already started manufacturing metal span structures. We preliminary plan to restore two-way traffic on one side by September 15, and traffic on the other side by November 1.

There are construction details:

– We understand in advance that we will have to build a temporary bridge for 250 linear meters, on which we will carry out work, since approaches with floating cranes are impossible, since the support is located between the automobile and railway parts. The deadlines will be finalized as soon as the design and estimate documentation is ready.

At the end, Marat Khusnullin makes a magic trick:

– Vladimir Vladimirovich, thank you, what was reported to you in the morning, all instructions were given – to the Ministry of Defense, to the commandants, that is, we can move around the clock along the highway (on the land part to the Crimea.— A.K.).

That is, thanks to him for what they reported. That they had the opportunity to report. No, any PR man will only harm Mr. Khusnullin with his advice. It is even more intuitive than situational.

Meanwhile, the heads of the regions are commenting on the situation, Veniamin Kondratiev was intuitively impressed, apparently, by conversations with residents of the Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory, who decided to briefly hit the road in their cars to the Crimea or, conversely, to the Krasnodar Territory – and so now they have remained there. He asks to organize a ferry crossing for them (“Only 750 cars”), but his intuition fails him: he forgot or did not seem to understand what Marat Khusnullin said – this night they will open reverse traffic on the automobile part of the bridge. Well, Mr. Savelyev, a kind man, reminds him.

On the whole, everything is rapidly moving towards Mr. Putin’s final speech.

And I want to ask him after this meeting: what will be the retaliatory strike? He will? Everyone is waiting. Some members of the Security Council call all possible measures insipid, except for strikes on the homes of terrorists and their relatives, as well as “the destruction of the top leadership of terrorist groups, in whatever cracks these insects hide.” Here it is, an understandable position.

And that’s what I want to ask.

“This is good news,” says Vladimir Putin, “if we can talk about any good news here at all. But the fact that the supports are not damaged is the most important thing…

And then, at the very end:

– What happened is another terrorist act of the Kyiv regime. This crime is meaningless, from a military point of view, having no significance, since the Crimean bridge has not been used for military transportation for a long time.

That is, he wants, in turn, to prove that the bridge is not a legitimate target. And what does it mean, it was a terrorist attack.

Here they have a dispute with the other side, of course, in full swing.

“And cruel,” continues Vladimir Putin, “because innocent civilians suffered and died.

It was precisely all these words that he had been writing down all this time and now he was saying, however, without looking at the papers.

– The answer from Russia, of course, will be. The Ministry of Defense is preparing relevant proposals.

Well, he answered my question. And, of course, he won’t say anything else.

And he didn’t say.

Andrey Kolesnikov