Putin Drives Himself to Pick Up His First Teacher, Dines with Her at the Kremlin Following Victory Parade

At the Moscow Victory Parade

According to Главком: Vladimir Putin's first teacher, Vera Dmitrievna Gurevich, attended the Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9, 2023. She watched the entire event from Red Square, after which the Russian president invited her for a private dinner at the Kremlin. According to presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov,

“At Vladimir Putin’s invitation, his first teacher Vera Dmitrievna Gurevich was present at the Victory Parade on May 9. She stayed for the entire parade. Later that day, the president invited her to his residence in the Kremlin for dinner.”

Putin personally drove to the Arbat district to pick up Gurevich, taking the wheel himself. While entering the hotel, he encountered a resident of Sochi, and the two exchanged greetings. Following this, the president had lunch with his former teacher at his residence. Dmitry Peskov added:

“The president drove himself. As he was entering the hotel, he met one of the Russian citizens, a resident of Sochi. They greeted each other. After that, Putin had lunch with his teacher Vera Dmitrievna Gurevich at the residence.”

Who Is Vera Gurevich?

Now 92 years old, Gurevich graduated in 1958 from the German language department of the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Leningrad State Pedagogical Institute named after A.I. Herzen. She taught German at Leningrad’s Secondary School No. 193 in the Dzerzhinsky District, where she served as Vladimir Putin’s homeroom teacher from the 5th to the 8th grade. She is also the author of the memoirs titled 'Vladimir Putin: Parents, Friends, Teachers.'

Currently, trust and approval ratings for Vladimir Putin’s performance have dropped to their lowest levels since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with a negative trend persisting for over a month and a half. These figures highlight a challenging political climate in the country, yet the president’s personal ties to his past-especially with figures like Vera Gurevich-remain a key component of his public image.

This episode underscores the role of personal relationships in political life, particularly amid declining public trust in the government. A meeting with his first teacher may serve as a way for the president to bolster his image and project a sense of humanity. However, in the context of escalating political tensions within the country, such personal moments may have only a limited impact on how the public perceives his overall leadership.

This intimate meeting between Putin and his first teacher comes at a time when his popularity is waning, with recent polls indicating a significant decline in public trust. For further insights into how these events are unfolding against the backdrop of growing dissatisfaction among the Russian populace, see how Russian trust in the president has reached unprecedented lows.