President Vladimir Putin was shown a mock “nuclear button” but refused to press it on Monday as he toured a major exhibition of Russian achievements in what appeared to be preparations for his re-election campaign, Reuters reported.

Putin was explained how the Soviet nuclear bomb was constructed and shown a simulation of the control panel for launching a nuclear test, followed by images of an explosion and a mushroom cloud.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Putin has frequently reminded the West of the size and capabilities of Russia’s nuclear arsenal, saying that anyone who tries to nuke it will be wiped off the face of the earth.

He has deployed tactical nuclear missiles in Belarus and reversed Russia’s position on two major arms treaties, while insisting that Moscow does not brandish nuclear weapons recklessly or change its doctrine on their use.

Putin is expected to confirm this month that he will run for a new six-year term as president in March, and his appearance on Monday gave the impression that he is on the campaign trail.

He was filmed standing next to a group of students who were writing messages on a giant blackboard about his hopes for their future and how to pick from a tree the wishes children put on the Christmas tree in the hope that he would be able to fulfill them. .

During the exhibition, Putin was shown a copy of Stalin’s office.

State media present Putin in a flattering tone

In a tone to flatter the Russian president, the TASS news agency quoted the words of Olympic boxing champion Oleg Saitov about the power of Putin’s handshake.

Putin, 71, has ruled Russia as president or prime minister since 1999, when Boris Yeltsin stepped down and appointed him acting president on the last day of the last millennium.

With six more years in the Kremlin, he will surpass Joseph Stalin, who ruled the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1953, to become Russia’s longest-serving ruler since Catherine the Great in the 18th century.

Confirmation of his candidacy for a new term could come next week, when Putin holds a press conference and viewers across Russia will have the chance to ask him questions live.

The event is taking place for the 20th time and usually lasts several hours.

State television showed the build-up to it, with staff wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Team Putin” answering call center phones to answer questions from the public.

For Putin, elections are a formality if he announces his candidacy: with the support of the state, state media and almost without public dissent, he will surely win.

Opposition politicians consider the election a fraud, and all they see is the corrupt dictatorship of Putin’s Russia. Such elections, they say, often attract weak candidates to create only a sense of competition.

Putin’s supporters reject the criticism, pointing to independent polls that show he enjoys an approval rating of more than 80 percent. They say Putin has restored order and some of the influence Russia lost in the chaos of the collapse of the Soviet Union.