'Absurd Hoax', Says Kremlin On Reports Of Putin Being Unwell, Using Body Doubles

The Kremlin, on Tuesday, 24th October, has unequivocally rejected recent speculations about President Vladimir Putin's well-being, affirming that he remains in good health.

During a routine press briefing, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed allegations that the President uses body doubles as, in his words, an "absurd hoax," as reported by Reuters.

These concerns about Putin's health surfaced following an unverified report from a Russian Telegram channel, which was picked up by some Western media outlets. This report suggested that Putin may have experienced a significant health incident on Sunday, 22nd October evening.

Speculation about Putin's health has been circulating since 2022, with some reports suggesting that the 71-year-old president is battling serious ailments, including cancer and Parkinson's disease. These rumors gained traction from observations of Putin appearing unsteady and bloated during public appearances.

In September, a Russian Telegram post by 'Z-blogger' Pozdnyakov reignited chatter about Putin's well-being, with a heartfelt plea: "God, don't you leave us. Pray to God you are alive and healthy," accompanied by a picture of Putin.

President Putin addressed ongoing speculations about the use of body doubles during a 2020 interview, refuting them but acknowledging that he had been offered the option of using one for security reasons in the past.

As recently as April of this year, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesperson, emphatically dismissed any notion of body doubles as "yet another falsehood" and reiterated that Putin is in excellent health.

The Kremlin, throughout this period of speculation, has consistently denied such rumors. In April, Peskov dismissed the cancer rumors as "fiction and falsehood," while the CIA Director, William J. Burns, stated in July that, as far as the agency could determine, Putin was "entirely too healthy" to be experiencing significant health issues.