Vladimir Putin is using body doubles on trips, claim social media users

Russian President Vladimir Putin has often been the centre of several conspiracy theories and rumours. The rumour mill has gone into overdrive once more, with suggestions that Putin may be using a body double during various trips.

The latest controversy comes against the backdrop of Putin's visit to occupied Mariupol in Ukraine. Putin made a surprise weekend visit to the war-ravaged Mariupol after visiting Crimea over the weekend to mark the ninth anniversary of Russia's annexation of the peninsula.

Several claims have been made on Russian social media platforms questioning whether it was Putin or his body double. A clip from Putin's visit to Ukraine has also made it to Twitter, with users going wild with their theories and suggestions.

"Who is ruling Russia?" Video goes viral in Russia claiming Putin is using body doubles," read the caption posted with the video. Others also joined in the comment section. "Wonder if #Trump will follow this double example? Are there lookalikes out there?" asked one user.

"This is so obviously a Putin body double driving. Why would the REAL President of Russia, a 70-year-old man, be driving his own car in an occupied city that he is not familiar with in the middle of the night just to "see" what is going on?" asked another.

Kyiv official Anton Gerashchenko also made similar claims earlier this week. He shared a snapshot of Putin's face, comparing his chin on different days. "Which one do you think is the real one?" he said.

A former KGB spy, Sergey Zhirnov, who attended the same university as Russian President Vladimir Putin has made similar claims. He said that body doubles are being used at important events.

The claims came after another video of Putin started making the rounds on social media platforms earlier in March. The video showed a very excited Russian leader visiting a helicopter factory in Siberia. He is seen in the video making impassioned gestures and constantly rubbing his nose, which are not normal actions by the leader.

Zhirnov made a comparison between the formal address Putin gave on Feb. 21 compared to the next day's engagement at a pro-war concert in Moscow alone. He appeared "thin" and was coughing during the event.

In this case, "a totally different Putin pops up" with "a wider face as if he bloated in 24 hours," he told Ukrainian TV. "He has a totally different shape of eye orbits, a totally different head, absolutely different wrinkles, - a different voice," Zhirnov added.

Far from avoiding contact with others, which he usually does to stay away from COVID-19, he was "nearly kissing and hugging everyone," he said. Zhirnov is a former classmate of Putin at the KGB Red Flag Academy and is currently exiled in France.

Former Kremlin officials, including longstanding Soviet leaders Joseph Stalin and Leonid Brezhnev, also employed body doubles. Three years ago, Putin claimed that the concept was discussed by officials but was rejected. "I discarded the idea of any doubles," Putin said previously.

He acknowledged that during the early 2000s when terrorist strikes shook Russia, the idea first surfaced. On occasions where the safety of the head of state might be in jeopardy, he claimed, it was suggested that a doppelgänger should step in.

Ukraine's head of military intelligence, Major General Kyrylo Budanov, claimed in October last year that Putin has three body doubles. He said that "no matter how bad" Putin was in the past, "he was not an idiot", but went on to argue that Russia's war "does not follow any logic."

The claims of Putin's body doubles have been gaining ground amid repeated rumours about his health – that he has cancer or Parkinson's disease. Last year, a Russian oligarch was secretly recorded saying Russian President Vladimir Putin has blood cancer. The recording was allegedly made without the oligarch's permission while he was having a conversation with a Western venture capitalist.

The two were reportedly discussing the president's health, and the oligarch said that Putin is "very ill with blood cancer." He also said that the Russian president even had surgery on his back linked to his blood cancer. The recording was obtained by New Lines, a US magazine. However, all claims about Putin's health are unverified, and the Kremlin has made no official statement.