Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited India for two days ahead of an annual summit between the two countries. The visit came after the President of the United States, Donald Trump, increased pressure on India to stop buying oil from Russia. Despite that, Russia and India’s friendship has been warming up.
However, what caught the social media and later the traditional media’s attention was that Putin did not seem to look like his normal self. He was perhaps a little off, and that’s when people started speculating whether he was actually Putin or just a body double.
The Fake Putin Chaos
Vladimir Putin has been ruling Russia for the past 22 years; that’s a long time for a single figure to have so much power. Naturally, that puts him at risk. On top of that, Putin has been known as an aggressor in many international affairs, and his control extends to all branches of the Russian Federation. This puts him in a position where he has enemies, not just individuals, but sometimes entire nations.
According to theories, Putin is under the protection of reliable security forces who, at times, substitute other individuals who are ready to give their lives for him. The exact number of fake people used by the Russian President is currently unknown, but they are there.
During Putin’s visit to India, many people on social media noticed that the President looks and seems a bit different. Based on a few images and videos, Indian media began questioning Putin’s way of walking, talking, in fact, his entire demeanour. A topic that was first just social media buzz, trending on Reddit, slowly became national news. Everyone really began to wonder if the man who visited India was really Vladimir Putin or just another body double.
The Alaska Visit
This wasn’t the first time people have speculated that Putin isn’t really Putin. Back in August, when the Russian President visited Alaska to meet Donald Trump, rumours started spreading that Putin did not leave Russia at all. Conspiracy theorists speculated that the man who stepped out of the plane in Alaska had fuller cheekbones and even looked cheery, unlike the ‘real’ Putin.
Evidence Supporting Fake Putins
The Putin body doubles do not come without evidence. First, there are visual differences in physical features that have been noticed over the years. Internet sleuths have juxtaposed photographs from different years, arguing that the wrinkles, chin, or jawline do not align. Ukrainian intelligence officials have also pointed to differences in ear shape. However, this evidence is not concrete as age, lighting, shadows and various factors affect how one appears in photographs.
The second evidence comes from researchers in Japan who have applied facial recognition, voice and motion analysis to footage of Putin at different events, including his crossing of the Crimean Bridge in December 2022 and his appearance in Mariupol in March 2023. The researchers found low similarity scores in this footage, suggesting that there was more than one individual in it.
The third set of evidence comes from the supporters of the theory who have, time and time again, pointed toward Putin’s irregular schedules and the suddenness with which he appears and disappears at times.
What Does Putin Say About His Body Doubles?
Putin has always denied the rumours of having body doubles, and neither have his spokespeople. In a 2020 interview, Putin acknowledged that he had been offered the idea of stand-ins during the early 2000s but rejected it. In 2023, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, too, dismissed the rumours as lies and hoaxes.
If you’re a conspiracy theorist, you might find the slight differences in Putin’s body and behaviour suspicious. However, for a rationalist, there could be legitimate explanations for all of it. And if nothing else, it might just be a series of coincidences, right?
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