How Will Putin Manage the Metrojet Plane Crash?

After the crash of Russia’s Metrojet Flight 9268 over Egypt, on Saturday, which caused the death of all its passengers, thousands of people came to St. Petersburg’s central Dvortsovaya Square to express their grief and sympathy. They brought candles, flowers, and toys; some were carrying photos of the crash victims. Similar spontaneous gatherings took place across Russia, but the one in St. Petersburg was the largest; of the two hundred and twenty-four people killed in the crash, one hundred and seventy-three were from St. Petersburg and the neighboring Leningradskaya Oblast. This outpouring of compassion, as well as scenes from St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport, where families learned of their loved ones’ deaths, were broadcast by all the major Russian TV channels. One of the most popular Russian talk shows, “Let Them Talk,” opened its next episode with a long series of photos and videos of the victims, many of them smiling and laughing, which appeared along with their names and ages. Even normally critical TV analysts admitted that the coverage of the crash was appropriate; it was “humane and professional,” one said.