WATCH: A 2009 Masterclass In State Authority From Putin Amid IndiGo Crisis - 'Sign It!'

A 2009 video of Russian President Vladimir Putin taking an oligarch to task has gone viral amidst the ongoing IndiGo flight fiasco.The timing could not have been more striking. Putin was in India just as IndiGo's flight disruptions snowballed into a nationwide crisis. The old video shows the Russian President - then Prime Minister - holding a billionaire factory owner accountable in "classic Putin" style. Users online have been calling it a masterclass in state authority amidst allegations that the DGCA allowed itself to be "arm-twisted" by IndiGo to relax duty-time rules.The video shows Putin publicly chiding Oleg Deripaska for failing to pay factory workers for three months. The video, originally from Pikalyovo in Russia, shows Putin instructing

Deripaska to "come and sign," followed by the now-viral "Sign", as he pushes an agreement paper towards him and hands him his own pen.

As a visibly defeated Deripaska signs and turns to walk away, Putin's epic stinger follows, "Give me back my pen."Users said the video shows that "oligarchs can't take the state for a ride," and that the state "holds ultimate power".Shekhar Dutt wrote, "This alleged arm twisting of govt by IndiGo reminds me of 2009 about a Putin master class on how to handle oligarchs and oligopolies." Another asked, "Can India use Putin's idea of 2009 on Indigo?"IndiGo cancelled over 1000 flights across multiple cities this week after its operations were disrupted by its lack of preparedness for DGCA's new Flight Duty Time Limitation rules, which tightened pilot rest requirements.The situation left thousands stranded, with long queues and delays across airports.Under intense pressure, the DGCA partially rolled back night-duty rules for IndiGo until February 2026, a move many claimed was "manufactured" due to the airline's "pressure tactics".