By Vladimir Putin's visit, stray dogs and the governor had disappeared from the city of Volgograd 

Vladimir Putin was in Volgograd for the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad. Before his arrival, Andrei Bocharov, governor of the Volgograd region, had not shown up in public for a week and did attend the morning parade. Journalists from the local newspaper V1.RU believe that it was because of the quarantine that all officials have to pass through before meetings with the president.

On the eve of Putin's arrival, on February 1, bronze busts of marshals Georgy Zhukov and Alexander Vasilevsky, as well as of Josef Stalin were unveiled just 400 feet away from a monument to the victims of political persecution. On February 2, the Internet was shut down in the central part of the city.

Vladimir Putin laid flowers at the Mamayev Kurgan memorial complex and made a speech. He said that "once again we are threatened with German Leopard tanks," but "Russia does not send its tanks to the borders of Western countries. We have our answers to the threats, and they will not be limited to the use of armored vehicles.”

Original