How Vladimir Putin is Spending His 70th Birthday

Russian President Vladimir Putin turns 70 today. The leader is marking the day with scaled-back celebrations as his flagging war against neighboring Ukraine continues to cause staggering losses on both sides of the border.

The Kremlin has said Putin will spend the day working, while several events have been planned for the Russian leader, including an informal meeting of heads of state of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in St. Petersburg.

What Putin won't be doing is hiking in the Siberian taiga forest with Sergei Shoigu, his defense minister, as he did in 2019 to celebrate his 67th birthday. Shoigu has been heavily criticized with Russian forces being forced to retreat in Ukraine following successful counteroffensives launched by Kyiv.

Putin is facing the biggest challenge of his 22-year reign as a growing number of allies criticize his military's handling of the Ukraine war.

Meeting World Leaders

The Russian leader is attending an informal summit at the Constantine Palace near St. Petersburg with the heads of intelligence of the CIS, a Russia-led political bloc.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that the meeting on Putin's birthday will be an important stage in preparation for a separate CIS summit poised to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, next week.

Sadyr Japarov, president of Kyrgyzstan, has said he won't be attending. This comes after a clip of Putin being forced to wait for his Kyrgyz counterpart before a meeting went viral on social media.

A spokesman for Japarov said the Kyrgyz leader wouldn't be going to the summit due to his work schedule.

Putin also phoned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the events unfolding in Ukraine, and bilateral relations.

Turkish news agency Anadolu said Erdogan reiterated Ankara's readiness to promote a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian issue in a way "that will benefit everyone."

Peskov said Putin will be making several international phone conversations on Friday.

According to Tass, Russia's state-run news agency, Putin rarely takes a day off on his own birthday and most often spends it at work.

Congratulatory Messages

Putin will likely be soaking in fawning congratulatory messages from his allies.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, said Friday that Putin's reign over Russia had been mandated by God, as he congratulated him on his birthday.

"God put you in power so that you could perform a service of special importance and of great responsibility for the fate of the country and the people entrusted to your care," the patriarch said, praising him for "transforming" Russia's image, and protecting its national interests.

Chechnya's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, also delivered a warm congratulatory message to the Kremlin chief, days after criticizing how the Ukraine war has been handled.

In a stark shift of tone after publicly ridiculing Putin's military amid a series of successful counteroffensives conducted by Kyiv in Ukraine's south and northeast, Kadyrov extended his well wishes to Putin, offering praise and crediting the leader for supporting Chechnya "in the most difficult times."

Kadyrov said Putin's leadership has turned Russia into one of the most powerful countries in the world.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also extended his well-wishes to Putin, saying he has built a "powerful Russia."

Newsweek has contacted Russia's foreign ministry for comment.