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Putin suffers cardiac arrest? The Kremlin had to deny information from a Russian account reported by several Western media outlets.
RUSSIA – New speculation about the Kremlin chief’s health prompted a formal denial from Moscow. This Tuesday, October 24, the Kremlin was indeed forced to respond to new rumors about Vladimir Putin’s health.
The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, wanted to respond to the information that was initially spread by a Russian Telegram channel called General SVR, which reported that the Russian head of state had a “cardiac arrest” on Sunday evening.
“There is nothing wrong with him, this is another false information,” replied Dmitry Peskov, while the information from this channel was practically unverifiable, but was nevertheless picked up by many Western media.
Enough to make the Russian government spokesman laugh, who, according to comments quoted by Portal, believes that “this belongs to the category of absurd hoaxes that a whole range of media outlets talk about with enviable persistence.” “It just makes you smile,” he added with a laugh.
Cardiac arrest in his bedroom
These “absurd hoaxes” first appeared online on Telegram before being shared by the same account (General SVR) on its version X (formerly Twitter). In this note about Vladimir Putin’s health, the tweet explained that Kremlin security was alerted by “the sounds of falling coming from Putin’s room” around 9 p.m. on Sunday evening.
They “saw Putin lying on the floor, next to the bed and an overturned table with food and drinks,” the statement continued. In particular, the sequel tells how the doctors on duty came to resuscitate Vladimir Putin after the diagnosis of “cardiac arrest”. After having his heart restarted, the note said the Russian president is now under medical observation in a room dedicated to his care.
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In addition, the message underlying the Kremlin’s denial ensures that “several people close to Putin have been in contact with each other by telephone” in order to forestall the Russian president’s death in the coming days.
The media insider had also looked into this mysterious report and had already spread worrying rumors about Putin’s health. This account, first identified in 2020, is believed to be run by former and current members of the SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation).
An eye in the corridors of the Kremlin?
In an exchange between Insider and the General SVR account, the latter also refused to provide information about the identity of the sources used by the account for security reasons, but then assured that he had “complete trust” in them.
And although the Kremlin denies it, this report often contains unverifiable information about the Russian president’s deteriorating health, almost seeming to provide a glimpse into the inner workings of the Kremlin.
The Kremlin had already denied one of these reports in December 2022, according to which Vladimir Putin had fallen down a few steps after a particularly strenuous day. A fall on the tailbone caused Vladimir Putin to “involuntarily defecate.”
However, according to the American media report Newsweek, the Kremlin agreed to respond to these allegations via email. A short answer (“We can say that your request is completely wrong”), but an answer nonetheless, proof that the voice of General SVR is taken seriously by the Russian authorities.
However, many observers of Russia and the war in Ukraine advise not to believe a single word in this report. Like Aric Toler, a journalist with the independent investigative group Bellingcat, who advised his subscribers to “ignore everything that comes out” in a message to his subscribers.
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And while General SVR’s political positioning does not seem entirely clear, voices such as that of propaganda and Russian media researcher Jade McGlynn speak out against this portrayal, which appears to be explicitly aimed at Western media in order to emphasize the urgency of to find a solution to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia by leaving doubts about the impending death of the Russian president.
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