The military helicopter took both presidents back to Khmeimim air base, where the Russian President boarded the plane that brought him to Syria and returned to Moscow. The Syrian President returned to Damascus by helicopter, feeling like a lackey of the Russian President.
President Putin's plane landed in Moscow just a day before the elections. The photos from his victorious visit to Syria were already posted in all the newspapers and were shown repeatedly on all TV channels. These served as a reminder to the Russian public to re-elect the man who made Russia great again — to misquote the American President. The coverage of the Western news media of Putin's visit insulted the Russian President, as they kept mentioning the joke about the two major Russian newspapers: Izvestia (meaning news) had no Pravda (meaning truth) and Pravda had no Izvestia. He decided that he would expel a few of the leading Western reporters after the election — just to show that he controlled the local and foreign media reporting from Russia.
The results of the election came as no surprise. Putin won over 76 % of the popular vote, while the strongest opposition party barely gained 11.6 %. All opposition parties, combined, totaled less than one third of the votes for the incumbent. Many of the young voters were born, or grew up, when the Russian Federation was ruled by Putin and couldn't imagine the country under the leadership of anyone else. To celebrate his triumph, the newly re-elected president decided to take a few days off and enjoy a well-deserved vacation on an unofficial visit to his favorite hometown of St. Petersburg. For a change, he defined this as a private visit, and therefore was supposed to be accompanied by only a small entourage.
The plane of the President of the Russian Federation landed at Pulkovo airport and taxied to the terminal which served Russian government officials and VIPs. All other traffic at the terminal was put on hold while President Putin and his small entourage were escorted to a convoy of unmarked black vans with dark windows. Part of the low-profile visit involved abstaining from using the 'Kortezh' — the official presidential state car based on a Mercedes-Benz S 600 built on a truck platform. The van in which the president travelled didn't have the offensive and defensive measures of the Kortezh, but the security detail provided the necessary protection against all known types of assassination attempts. In addition, the entire police force of St. Petersburg was out in force, controlled by the trusted agents of the FSB.
Colonel Alexandrova was in the official reception committee and was overjoyed when she was invited to ride in the president's car. Putin was not a great advocate of small talk, so when the local head of the FSB was seated beside him, he asked, "Colonel Alexandrova, how did the people of my favorite city respond to my electoral success?" He asked this, not because he really cared about public opinion, but he was hoping to show the colonel that he still considered himself, first and foremost, a native of St. Petersburg.
As expected, Colonel Alexandrova flattered the most powerful man in the Russian Federation, a man who could terminate her career with a single word, "Mister President," no one dared to use terms like 'comrade' or 'tovarishch' when addressing Putin, "the celebrations of your victorious achievement were unprecedented. The people of the city love you and would never allow anyone else to lead them."
Putin accepted this at face-value, flattery to people in power was so deeply imbedded in the Russian psyche since the time of the Czar, "Colonel, are there any security threats that I should be aware of?"
She stammered, trying to avoid a direct answer, "Mister President, we have deployed every single man or woman under the command of the Federal Security Bureau to provide security." This was true, of course, but she didn't mention that a Chechen terrorist, possibly with an improvised nuclear device, was running loose in the city, and didn't say anything about the Mossad team trying to track NEMESIS activists.
Putin, an experienced intelligence officer who had worked his way up the ranks in the KGB, noticed the slight tremor in her voice. "Colonel Alexandrova, is there something on your mind that you are not telling me? Come out with it, even if it's only a gut feeling." He looked at the woman with his cold blue eyes to assess her reaction.
All blood drained from her face, and she said, "There are some vague indications that Islamic extremists are plotting something that may sabotage your visit. But these could be rumors spread by agents of a foreign country who has no love for the Russian Federation and Muslims."
Putin caught on immediately, "There are two such organizations — the CIA and Mossad. The heads of the CIA are in deep trouble with their own administration and wouldn't dare to embark on adventurous operations in the Russian Federation without being authorized directly by their president. As you know, POTUS is the opposite of Theodore Roosevelt — he speaks loudly and carries a small stick." For a moment, a smile crossed the face of the Russian President when he thought about an expression that rhymes with a 'small stick'. He continued, "This leaves Mossad as the only intelligence service who would dare to operate in our country. Colonel Alexandrova, am I right?"
She was at a loss for words. If she admitted that she had cooperated with Mossad agents without permission from FSB headquarters she could be tried for treason, but if she admitted that Mossad had warned her of the threat she would be dismissed for incompetence. She hedged, "Mister President, I have been contacted by a Mossad agent who has built his reputation by foiling terrorist plots against his country and the West. He said that there was a chance that NEMESIS has smuggled a nuclear device into the city and is planning to detonate it."
Putin interrupted, "Do you mean David Avivi, when you mention a Mossad agent?"
Colonel Alexandrova couldn't believe that President Putin was aware of the man. She replied, "He is the man who warned me."
"Colonel, you must treat this threat very seriously. Avivi's well-deserved reputation precedes him. If he is still here, would like to meet him and hear from him about the threat." Colonel Alexandrova was speechless — this was unheard of, that the President of the Russian Federation meet face-to-face with an agent of a foreign intelligence service.
The small convoy reached its first destination — the Hermitage Museum. The van's door was opened by the chief of the president's security detail. He stepped out of the van and waved to the small crowd of tourists who gathered when they saw the convoy of black vans. The Russian residents kept their distance and stood well behind the tourists. They knew from experience that getting too close to VIPs and their security people involved a certain risk, unless the VIP approached them. Someone, probably from the president's own entourage, started cheering, and the crowd joined in. Putin smiled, waved again, and quickly walked to the museum's entrance where he was greeted by the director. After shaking hands and posing for a photograph, the director himself led the president on a guided tour of the main treasures of the museum. Putin told the director that he wanted to see the collection of Russian art. The director led the way through the richly decorated first floor of the Winter Palace to the section that displayed the collection of Russian art and culture. Putin stopped to admire the Russian bone and ivory carvings of the 8th to 19th centuries and asked the director if there were any artists in present-day Russia who mastered this art. The director replied that this artform could still be found in remote parts of Russia, where people were forced to remain indoors in winter and must pass the time doing something. The president then said that he wanted to see the wardrobe collection of Peter the Great. Some of the cynics in Putin's entourage thought that he would ask to try on some of the garments, but no one dared to say anything aloud. Finally, Putin stood in front of the impressive portrait of Leo Tolstoy and studied it carefully. People in his entourage noticed that his features seemed to undergo a transformation which made his eyes emulate the penetrating gaze of Tolstoy. Putin turned about abruptly, thanked the director of the museum and headed out of the museum.