Five days after the worst attack in Russia since 2003, President Vladimir Putin still hasn’t gone to the attack site in Moscow or met with the families of the victims.
Even though the Islamic State claimed responsibility, Putin blamed Ukraine and the West. But on Wednesday, he surprised everyone by visiting Torzhok, a small town. A crowd of about 100 people greeted him warmly.
On TV, people clapped and cheered as Putin got out of his car. He signed a book for an old lady and hugged a 10-year-old boy while surrounded by guards.
“I’ve been waiting for you for 20 years,” a woman said.
140 people died and 360 were hurt in the attack in Moscow’s Crocus City Hall.
Putin often visits regular people far from Moscow when there’s trouble. He went to Torzhok to show that people still support him.
The crowd in Torzhok waited for hours. There were also security people in plain clothes there.
Putin visited a museum and talked about patriotism. But his visit was planned a day before, even though he said it was because of the attack in Moscow.
Before Putin’s visit, they covered up old buildings and fixed the roads in Torzhok.
This visit happened right after people laid flowers for Alexei Navalny, Putin’s biggest opponent who died in prison.
The Kremlin often sets up these kinds of visits to make Putin look good after bad things happen.