Putin’s health is a state secret. Mass visits by top doctors are now causing speculation. Is the Kremlin chief seriously ill?
Rumors and speculation have recently increased that Vladimir Putin – who will turn 70 this year – is possibly terminally ill. According to a report in the British Daily Mail, the Russian president must be “constantly” accompanied by a cancer specialist who specializes in thyroid cancer.
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Research team discovers medical records
But the Kremlin chief’s health is a state secret. Putin likes to mock the strong man, he interprets physical ailments as a sign of weakness – everything is covered up. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko (67) said recently: “Putin is absolutely fit, he’s in better shape than ever… He’s a completely healthy person, physically healthy.”
A team of independent Russian journalists – Mikhail Rubin, Dmitry Sukharev, Mikhail Maglov, Roman Badanin and Svetlana Reuter – reconstructed the Kremlin chief’s medical file as part of the “Project” research project. And that shows something completely different. For this, they were called “foreign agents” by Russian authorities in the summer of 2021 and had to go into exile.
Vladimir Putin on horseback in Siberia. File photo August 15, 2007.REUTERS/RIA Novosti/KREMLIN
horse heavy fall
So the Kremlin chief has changed a lot since the controversial constitutional amendment that made him the de facto undefined ruler of Russia. At the latest since the end of his second term as president, his personal health has become a national priority, quotes the German “Bild” of the document.
Putin may still be suffering the consequences of his severe fall from a horse. There’s a lot to suggest that the back injuries were more critical than the Russian propaganda machine was letting everyone know. This also became clearly visible on November 4, 2012 at a memorial service.
Putin attended the ceremony but was cut from the TV footage. He was still limping so much that the Kremlin decided to cover up his better condition. Before that, however, Putin hobbled at the APEC summit in Vladivostok. Towards the end of the year, the president withdrew more and more, secretly at a time when it was said that “the boss was not doing well”. The back injury would require surgery.
Putin at the 2012 APEC Summit.REUTERS
More and more top doctors with Putin
After that, there is a long gap in the reconstructed chart. In between November 25, 2016 – after meeting actor Steven Seagal – and December 1st, Putin disappeared again. Meanwhile, pre-recorded scenes were broadcast on Russian TV.
During his absence, however, a team of twelve top-notch doctors suddenly entered a hotel near Putin’s residence. Including an emergency physician and several renowned neurosurgeons led by Oleg Myschkin. What exactly they were doing in Moscow is not known. But a year later, Myshkin received the title of “Honored Doctor of Russia”.
Half a year later, in May 10, 2017, the Kremlin chief was injured again. This time when he was accidentally rammed into ice legend Pavel Bure during a hockey game at Sochi’s Ice Palace. According to “Project”, Putin almost rolled over and fell. On the same day, Putin traveled to Moscow – and a well-known traumatologist stayed at the same hotel.
Putin’s handshake with ice cream legend Pavel Bure 2021. The two have known each other for decades.Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS
It was not Putin’s last injury. At the November 30th and December 1st, 2019 13 doctors were called to his luxury residence in Sochi. Among them again the Myschkins neurology specialists. In addition, a spinal cord injury specialist and a surgical nurse arrived.
Does Putin have cancer?
As “Bild” reports, Putin would have been in the permanent company of at least nine doctors at the time. A likely oversized entourage for an old back injury, which is why “Project” dug deeper. Thus, there were always oncologists among the accompanying doctors. Does Putin have cancer?
The lanes thickened February 13, 2019, when Putin met Alexander Lukashenko for skiing in Sochi. Also present at the hotel: two intensive care physicians, a neurologist, a specialist in skin and venereal diseases, two otolaryngologists and an oncologist.
Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko during their 2019 ski vacation together in Sochi.Sergei Chirikov/Pool via REUTERS
The latter, Evgeny Selivanov, would have become one of the Kremlin chief’s most frequent companions. Only ENT doctors Igor Esakov and Alexey Schcheglov were there more often. “Project” emphasizes that thyroid diseases in particular, including cancer, are usually diagnosed only by ENT physicians. Oncologists and surgeons are then brought in for treatment.
suspected thyroid disease
What is particularly impressive, however, is that in the meantime Putin has also expressed a personal interest in the topic of thyroid cancer. Whether this is a coincidence or whether the despot is indeed suffering from a severe form of cancer cannot be voluntarily confirmed.
However, the research group assumes that Putin underwent a complicated procedure related to a thyroid disease during his most recent isolation under the guise of the corona pandemic in the fall of 2021.
Rp time of the navigation account03.04.2022, 20:01| Act: 04/03/2022, 20:01