Described as paranoid by enemies and plagued by fears for his safety, Russian President Vladimir Putin is now accused of using “paid actors” to pose as soldiers behind him during New Year greetings. In the video, he can actually be seen speaking alongside about twenty soldiers who – according to his spokesman on December 31 – “fought in Ukraine”, men and a woman wearing military uniforms and even war medals, all behind himself him. According to Dmitry Peskov, Putin was speaking from Russia’s southern military district. But within a few hours, complaints began to appear on the Internet from those who took care to study the faces well and also found them in other “Russian propaganda” videos.
In particular, the video features a blonde woman placed to Putin’s right, who has previously appeared in other videos allegedly involving Putin in various activities “with ordinary Russians.” In fact, the mysterious blonde woman looks exactly like the one who appears behind Putin in a church; or as a sailor, on a fishing boat with a waterproof life jacket, always next to the President; again with other men who look like the ones in the New Year’s video. The trio (the blonde and two men) also appear to have appeared in other clips, including one from a trip to the country (all sitting around a campfire with Putin) and one from a business lunch.
According to some observers, the mysterious woman resembles Larisa Sergukhina, a member of the regional Duma commission for overseeing legislation. Oleksandra Matviichuk, co-winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, condemned the use of actors: “Putin wanted to copy Zelensky, who was visiting the Ukrainian defenders in Bakhmut. But after ten months of warfare, even actors are in short supply in Russia.”
