of The 11. August 2020 will go down in history as the day that Russia's President Vladimir Putin gave an unusual insight into his private life. One of his daughters had been with the new Russian drug, against Corona vaccinated, he said. They would hardly have had side effects, except a slightly elevated temperature. The vaccine was well. His daughter it is fine.

This unusual openness of the Russian President should on the one hand, to convince his countrymen of the success of the novel vaccine. A vaccine that has not, however, once passed all the clinical testing stages. The Name of the Corona vaccine made in Russia: "Sputnik V". The Soviet satellite was its successful launch in 1957 triggered a race for technical Superiority in space.

"Sputnik V" - a "breakthrough, such as in outer space"

this is called a PR-effect. How effective this effect is also in financial terms, for Russia, it will show. If you believe Kirill Dmitriev, the chief of the Russian investment funds (purchases), have already expressed more than 20 countries, their interest in "Sputnik V". You negotiate with potential customers in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia, according to Dmitriev to the Russian newspaper "Kommersant".

With the breakthrough of the Russians in space, the President of the Russian Association of political consultant (RAPK), Alexey Kurtow compared, the admission of the Russian vaccine to the DW. For Kurtow is clear, "who is the first to develop the vaccine, is in the eyes of the Establishment and the ordinary people as the winner". For Putin it was "a personal breakthrough".

The fact that the President mentioned his daughter, according to Kurtow the best strategy in order to look convincing: "a person who brings his own child into the game, to ensure absolute credibility."

The independent political scientist Abbas Galjamow sees in Putin's words, a new sincerity: "This is one of the favorite tricks of the Kremlin. So he tries to give the authoritarian government a human face."

criticism from the West, from the table.

wiped out In some way, Russia is not even the hostage of his own pride, declared the policy expert Alyona Awgust Deutsche Welle: "We are accustomed to be always the First. In space, in sports and in science." The of researchers in other countries as premature and criticized the authorisation of the vaccine comes in your opinion, the scientific Image of Russia to Good: "This will attract the attention of international researchers and you to Russia to lure you in."

The Russians themselves make no secret of the fact that it is the competition with the Rest of the world. Scientists in the West had criticised, in the development and approval of the vaccine is crucial to safety had been skipped checks. The Russian health Minister Mikhail Muraschko reacted with incomprehension: "The foreign colleagues are concerned, obviously, the competition from the Russian drug, and Express doubt, which are, in our opinion, unfounded."

author: mandlmeier

*The post ""Sputnik V": Putin's Corona prestige object" will be released by Deutsche Welle. Contact with the executives here.