May 21, 2026

A Presidential Rideshare


A Presidential Rideshare
After the annual Victory Day parade and celebrations, Putin has made some time to reconnect with an old acquaintance. Press Office of the President of Russia

In a carefully staged display of warmth and humanity, Russian President Vladimir Putin met Vera Gurevich, his former teacher, in Moscow, and personally drove her around the city.

Putin invited his former teacher from St. Petersburg's School No. 193 to attend this year's Victory Day parade in Moscow. Gurevich spent several days touring Moscow on specially organized excursions. On May 11, Putin picked Gurevich up at her hotel for a dinner together at the Kremlin.

The Kremlin press service released footage of Putin at the wheel of an Aurus Komendant, a Russian luxury SUV. He met Gurevich in a relaxed fit (blue jeans and a checkered shirt). Putin then sweetly kissed her on the cheek in greeting, presented her with flowers, and gently assisted the ninety-two-year-old Gurevich into his car.

This is not the first time that Putin has helped out a former teacher. In 2005, he reconnected with a former high school German teacher over tea. As a result, Mina Yuditskaya-Berliner began receiving gifts from the president, including an apartment in Tel Aviv. When Berliner died in 2018, she left the apartment to Putin. However, this kindhearted gesture is not what it seems: the apartment was actually purchased by oligarch Roman Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea Football Club.

Despite his prevailing global image as a ruthless, warmongering leader, it is clear that Putin equally wants to cultivate a reputation as an approachable guy and a loyal former student deeply connected to his subjects.

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