There has been much speculation about the health of its president Vladimir Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Some rumours have suggested the 69-year-old has terminal cancer while others point towards a Parkinson's disease or dementia diagnosis. Theories have even gone as far as to suggest Putin might already be dead..
The leader prompted the biggest war in Europe since World War Two on the basis that Western-leaning Ukraine was a threat and that Russia could not feel "safe, develop and exist". Since the invasion began on February 24, thousands have died while towns and cities lie in ruins. Around 13 million people have left where they called home.
As the already prominent leader appears on our screens more than ever before, many have been speculating that the Russian leader may not be in the best of health.
It comes as Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Russian forces have seized 20% of his country's territory, while the invasion enters its 100th day on June 4.
Here are the rumours which suggest Putin might be ill - or worse. However, it should be stressed that there is no hard evidence to confirm these rumours. Given the impact he is having on world events at the moment it is worth at least looking at what people are saying.
1. Red eyes and low energy
"We can see a lowered chin hinting at lowered energy. His eye area looks reddened and there is a lack of energy in his eye expression," body language expert Judi James told The Mirror.
She said Putin's most recent meeting with Alexey Tsydenov, the Head of the Republic of Buryatia, showed the despot displaying a range of emotions from a "rather urgent desire to establish control to a more anxious and even slightly confused state".
Judi said there is a sense of urgency when Putin talks which "could suggest someone or some point that should not be argued with".
She also said he seems confused, continuing: "With the notes apparently upside-down initially. He corrects this but begins to touch other sheets of paper, ending by straightening the paperwork in a correcting, straightening ritual that could suggests some levels of inner anxiety."
She added: "If you crop down to the eye area alone we seem to see a man looking tired and lacking in energy or enthusiasm. His brows sag to the outer sides, they are also held puckered in the middle in a gesture of concern or worry that creates four or five deep grooves in the skin of his forehead."
2. Puffy face
During recent TV appearances, President Putin has appeared noticeably more bloated around the face and neck, it has been widely reported. The Telegraph suggested this could be because "he may be undergoing treatment with steroids".
Previously, in November 2020, the Kremlin had to edit footage of the 69-year-old when he had a severe coughing fit on state TV.
Politico quoted Fiona Hill - one of the US’ most respected experts in Russia - who said: "Putin’s not looking so great, he’s been rather puffy-faced. We know that he has complained about having back issues. Even if it’s not something worse than that, it could be that he’s taking high doses of steroids, or there may be something else. There seems to be an urgency for this that may be also driven by personal factors.”
Fiona, who served as part of both Republican and Democratic administrations, added: “He may have a sense that time is marching on - it’s 22 years, after all, and the likelihood after that kind of time of a Russian leader leaving voluntarily or through elections is pretty slim.
"Most leaders leave either like Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko thought that he might leave, as the result of massive protests, or they die in office. The only other person who has been Russian leader in modern times longer than Putin is Stalin, and Stalin died in office.”
Elsewhere, an unnamed US intelligence source claimed to the Daily Star that President Putin’s “puffy face” could be due to chemotherapy drugs.
3. Bizarre long meeting table
During recent state visits of foreign leaders, President Putin has been pictured sitting across from his guests on a shockingly long table. Shortly before the invasion was announced when French President Emmanuel Macron visited Moscow, the pair were sat 13 feet apart.
The Kremlin claimed that Mr Macron’s refusal to take a Covid test forced President Putin to sit such a long-distance away. However, he has been known to meet with senior people in his own government across the same lengthy table.
In March, a senior Royal Navy admiral suggested the long tables could be a sign of ill health. Chris Parry, who was hosting an online debate with schoolchildren in Hampshire, said: “He has been using these very long tables to interview people. I think his immune system might be suppressed at the moment. So he is a man in a hurry.”
4. Taking regular breaks
Former MI6 operative Christopher Steele claimed on LBC Radio a few weeks ago that Putin has to take regular breaks from meetings to seek medical treatment. He said: "There's no clear political leadership coming from Putin, who is increasingly ill, and in military terms, the structures of command and so on are not functioning as they should."
5. Shakes and tremors
It has been widely reported that Putin appears to shake and this could be the result of Parkinson's disease. This rumour has been circulating for several years after historian Professor Valery Solovei claimed that Putin had the degenerative disease. Others believe his apparent tremors point towards dementia.
In late April footage circulated of the 69-year-old apparently looking shaky and anxious at Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral. Footage from the service showed Putin chewing his lips and fidgeting as he spoke only once in chorus with the congregation saying "truly he is risen".
Other images of Putin sat at a table have shown him gripping it tightly throughout meetings, suggesting he is struggling to stay upright. Professor Erik Bucy, from Texas Tech University, told the Sun Online : "It’s an astonishingly weakened Putin compared to the man we observed even a few years ago. This is not a portrait of a healthy Putin but one appearing increasingly feeble and barely able to hold himself upright at a small conference table."
In this video Putin can been seen greeting someone but being unsteady on his feet and almost losing his balance:
6. Paranoia
Ex-KGB agent Mr Karpichkov said Putin is, or at least acts, "obsessed" with paranoia ideas, the Express reported. He said: “He sees literally everyone, including those inside the Russian security services and even inside his close inner circle, to be 'traitors’. He is so suspicious and so obsessed with his paranoia ideas that he can be now compared with Stalin."
7. Putin may already be dead
MI6 sources claim Vladimir Putin may already be dead amid speculation about the Russian leader's health. The Daily Star reported that a body double may have been used for recent appearances, as Kremlin cronies would be keen to cover up his death in an attempt to cling on to power.
Recent media appearances had very probably been pre-recorded, a source said, while speculating that his appearance at the Moscow Victory Day Parade earlier this month could have been a body double, The Mirror reports.
One intelligence source said: “Putin is very ill and when he dies his death will be kept secret for weeks, if not months. “There is also the possibility that he is already dead. It’s impossible to know.
“It is believed that Putin has employed body doubles in the past when he has been unwell and the Kremlin could be doing so now. Putin is the head of a small group of senior officials who are completely loyal to him.
“The real fear (for his cronies) is that once his death is announced there could be a Kremlin coup and Russian generals will want to withdraw from Ukraine. Putin’s death will leave them powerless and vulnerable so they have a vested interest in saying that Putin is alive – when the reverse could be true.”
8. Putin isn't ill or dying at all
Of course, the above are rumours at this stage so there is still a good chance that Putin is not unwell - or at least not terminally ill. Sources close to him have maintained that the leader is healthy.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked by Reuters if the president was in good health, replied saying "yes".
"He has meetings all the time," Peskov said by telephone. "He has meetings today, tomorrow. I don't know which ones we will make public."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday denied claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin is suffering from a serious illness. Lavrov discussed Putin's health during an interview with the French television station TF1.
"I don't think that sane people can see in this person signs of some kind of illness or ailment," Lavrov said when asked about Putin's health.
Lavrov also said Putin, who turns 70 in October, "appears in public every day." He continued: "You can watch him on screens, read and listen to his speeches.
The Kremlin previously denied Putin was in ill health in March. Speaking to the Associated Press at that time, Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Putin's health was "really perfect."
