Putin's New Social Distancing Table Has One Major Flaw

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a sit-down meeting with religious leaders of different faiths this week at an over-sized table, allowing him to keep a distance.

In recent years, the Russian leader has held meetings with foreign officials at a large oval table, roughly 5 meters long, with some speculating that Putin is worried about COVID.

A former Kremlin guard said in an interview earlier this year with the investigative website Dossier Center that Putin is "a self-isolating president" and that even Kremlin staff "have to observe a strict quarantine for two weeks before any event, even those lasting 15 to 20 minutes."

In his meeting with Russian religious leaders at the Catherine Hall of the Kremlin in Moscow on Wednesday, Putin positioned himself as the sole individual sitting on one side a large rectangular table, with the other 12 people pictured seated at the table crammed on the other side, with no social distancing measures in place.

The Kremlin said those in attendance included the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill; Grand Mufti of Russia and Chairman of the Central Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of Russia Talgat Tadzhuddin; Chairman of the Religious Board of Muslims of Russia Ravil Gaynutdin; Head of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia Pandito Khambo Lama Damba Ayusheev; and Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar, as well as leaders of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Old-Rite Russian Orthodox Church and Union of Evangelical Faith Christians (Pentecostals).

Putin's distance from the religious leaders during the meeting has resulted in a large number of comments on various social media platforms.

"Putin is meeting representatives of different Russian religions in the Kremlin," Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's minister of internal affairs, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "His position at the table says a lot. (Does the table look like a pool to you?)."

Gerashchenko has previously said that the distance Putin keeps from others suggests he is "terrified of his people."

A social media user on Reddit said the table presented a "fantastic sushi train opportunity," while another described it as "the rectangle of trust."

"Aww, the dictator doesn't trust his buddies to be any closer to him?" a different Reddit user posted.

"Are the people sitting across from Putin using microphones or do they just yell at him? Seems like it could be difficult to hear at normal conversational volumes," another asked.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Foreign Ministry for comment via email.

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