Putin criticised by Russian media for putting on a political show

Putin yesterday sat behind the controls of an aircraft bombing water onto the fires, in an attempt to reassure everyone that the Russian authorities have the situation under control.

"His PR-engineers can think of nothing more other than to yet again sit him behind the controls of an aircraft," Russian newspaper Vedomosti said, adding "This is a tunnel vision of the PR-makers who believe that a TV picture of Putin behind the wheel of something is an eternal panacea for a falling rating."

Other Russian publications, such as daily newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets sarcastically noted "Russian authorities are heroically (if you believe the television reports) fighting the forest fires."

Vedomosti criticised regional officials for continuing with daily life as though nothing was happening, when forecasters predicted an unusually hot summer from the beginning of spring.

Drought and “unprecedented heat started in some regions at the beginning of July,” the newspaper said, "It would seem that governors and local authorities should have prepared populated areas and local people earlier for the possible fires."

In response to a warning issued to political opponents by Russia’s president Dmitry Medvedev, on steering clear from generating profit from the crisis through ‘political PR’, Vedomosti said “Putin's flight shows that the authorities are willingly using this method. The necessity for the premier to put out a fire was nothing other than one of PR.”