Vladimir Putin in a tank top, tracksuit and long, disheveled hair plays table tennis and darts. The unpublished images of the Russian president are broadcast by the Finnish television channel YLE. The videos show a Putin who is, to say the least, unprecedented and a far cry from the figure who has dominated the scene in Russia for a quarter of a century. The video dates from the early 1990s and was filmed during a May Day celebration in Finland.
Tracksuit and long hair, young Vladimir
At that time, the current Russian president was about 40 years old and was on the launching pad of the political scene in St. Petersburg, from where he would set out to conquer Moscow. “He is the Putin before wealth. “Putin is poorly dressed, has a bad haircut, a Putin who does normal things like an ordinary father,” says Luke Harding, a former Guardian correspondent from Moscow who was interviewed by Finnish television. The video is completely new and refers to a previously unknown trip to Finland. The images document normal leisure activities, including parks, ping pong tables and lunch. We even see the Tsar’s “uncontrolled” laughter.
Putin laughs: “He seems human”
The Russian president’s self-control was not exactly granite at the time: “The most striking thing is that” in the video “he is laughing. It seems human.” At table tennis games, in which Putin often touches the back of his neck with his left hand, the incumbent Russian president plays in pairs with Anatoly Sobchak, the mayor of St. Petersburg who died in 2000.
According to the reconstruction, the opponents are two bodyguards who are very skilled at losing and making the bosses celebrate. The clip was filmed at a residence then provided by Thomesto, a group with ties to Russia, on the island of Torso, about 100 km southwest of Helsinki.
The channel will not reveal the source of the video: Putin, who has built up the image of a “man of steel” over the years, may not like the distribution of a video that shows a previously unknown side (euphemism).
The TV has edited the images to improve their quality and has the original VHS tapes with elements that make it possible to pinpoint the location where the images were taken. As a reminder, the residence no longer belongs to Thomesto and is now the private home of a Finnish citizen.
According to anonymous sources contacted by TV, while in Finland they also spent a lot of time on boat fishing trips, sometimes using nets to ensure a satisfactory catch. It cannot be ruled out that the video is part of an operation carried out by the Helsinki secret service at the time, with surprising results: Putin, a KGB man, was always careful not to show his face, like any self-respecting spy. The clip is an exception, just as the sociable version of the current Russian president seems to be a rarity. At the table, among the rich meat and drink dishes, there is also room for “disrespectful” jokes: in Finland you eat without limits, while in St. Petersburg you have to deal with rationed supplies.