On October 24, the Kremlin rejected speculation about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s health, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling accusations of using doppelgängers an “absurd hoax.”
Concerns about Putin’s health followed an unverified report by a Russian Telegram channel that was taken up by some Western media outlets. The report suggests that Putin may have suffered a serious health problem on Sunday, October 22.
Rumours about Putin’s poor health, which emerged from observations of his behaviour during public appearances, have been circulating around the internet since 2022, with some sources even suggesting that the Russian President is battling serious ailments including cancer and Parkinson’s disease.
In September, Russian blogger Pozdnyakov revived talks about Putin’s health by posting a picture of him with the following words:
God, don’t you leave us. Pray to God you are alive and healthy.
The president himself denied the rumours during the 2020 interview, admitting that he had been asked to use body doubles for security reasons.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, strongly refuted the rumours of doppelgängers and cancer back in April this year, calling them “yet another falsehood” and confirming Putin’s good health. Later in July, CIA Director William J. Burns claimed Putin looked “entirely too healthy” to have serious ailments.
