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A prominent critic of Valdimir Putin has claimed that the Russian president suffered from cancer and underwent surgery earlier this year.
Valery Solovei, who claims to have sources “at the epicenter of decision-making,” suggested that Putin, 68, underwent the operation in February.
Another unidentified source suggested that the operation was on Putin’s abdomen.
It comes two weeks after Solovei first spoke about the strongman leader’s health, suggesting he has Parkinson’s.
Vladimir Putin underwent abdominal cancer surgery in February, claimed a prominent critic in the latest rumor about the Russian president’s health.
Solovei, a former head of public relations at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, believes Putin plans to step down in January due to his health problems and plans to name his daughter Katerina Tikhonova as his successor.
Speaking about Putin’s alleged ill health, he said: “One is psychoneurological in nature, the other is a cancer problem.
“If anyone is interested in the exact diagnosis, I am not a doctor and I have no ethical right to disclose these issues.
“The second diagnosis is much, much more dangerous than the first mentioned diagnosis, since Parkinson’s disease does not threaten physical condition, it only limits public appearances.
“Based on this information, people will be able to reach a conclusion about their life horizon, which would not even require a specialized medical education.”
The Kremlin has firmly denied that there is any problem with Putin’s health.
It is unclear exactly when Solovei believes the alleged cancer operation took place, but sources claimed Putin’s first appearance afterward was a flower-laying ceremony on February 19.
Rumors about Putin’s health began to swirl after it emerged that documents were being drawn up to make him a senator for life when he retires from the presidency, in an indication that the end of his 20-year reign could be near.
A coughing fit during a television appearance on Thursday did little to quell speculation.
Putin was holding a meeting with officials to discuss the ‘serious financial problems’ caused by the coronavirus when he suffered the coughing fit.
The video was later edited to make Putin’s coughing fit appear less severe.
The state news agency TASS asked the Kremlin about Putin’s health and was told it was “absolutely normal.”
“The president apologized and continued the meeting almost without pause,” the agency said.
Solovei has also claimed that Putin’s gymnast’s mistress Alina Kabaeva has been urging him to step down from power.
Images have circulated in Russia of Putin’s legs moving as he gripped the armrest of a chair, suggesting his poor health.
The eyes are also drawn to a trembling pen in the former KGB agent’s fingers and a cup that analysts have suggested were filled with painkillers.
Valery Solovei, a prominent Putin opponent, claims his daughter Katerina Tikhonova, a ballerina turned politician, is being groomed to replace him.
It is not the first time that people have speculated that Putin might be suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
Others have previously noted his ‘gunslinger stride’ – a distinctly reduced right arm movement compared to his left, giving him a lilting arrogance.
An asymmetrically reduced arm swing is a classic feature of Parkinson’s and can manifest in “clinically intact subjects with a predisposition to later develop” the disease, according to the British Medical Journal.
‘There is a family, it has a great influence on him. He intends to make his handover plans public in January, ‘Solovei said.
He suggested Putin will soon appoint a new prime minister who will be “groomed” to take office.
It comes as Putin is presenting plans to grant him immunity from office, which, according to RT’s state media, will be seen “as a sign that the groundwork is being laid for an eventual transition of power in Russia.”
Putin has cultivated an athletic image: riding horses, wrestling, playing ice hockey and swimming in frozen lakes (pictured: on the Moscow rink in December 2019)
Putin and any subsequent former presidents will be allowed, within three months of leaving the presidency, to become members of the country’s Federation Council, upper house or senate for life.
“This is Russia copying the old-fashioned British life-partner system in the House of Lords,” a Moscow source said.
Currently, Russian presidents are only protected for actions taken while in office, while the new law will guarantee them immunity from any alleged crimes committed before, during or after the presidency.
It would mean Putin would be protected from the corruption allegations that have persisted since the 1990s, when he was a deputy to the mayor of St. Petersburg.
Politician and dissident Marina Salye accused him of embezzling tens of millions of pounds from the city into a food plan for experts, but the mayor blocked an investigation.
The new law would also protect former President Dmitry Medvedev, who raised suspicions after he made a huge fortune, including luxury villas, yachts and a vineyard after his presidency ended in 2012.
The immunity law could only be repealed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of Russia’s parliament, if it passes.
But it would not award Putin and other presidents of international courts.
Many foreign critics have urged investigators to blame Putin for the Malaysia Airlines disaster in 2014, which was shot down in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.
Russia’s president, a 68-year-old strongman, is being urged to retire by his former lover of gymnast Alina Kabaeva, 37, insiders say (pictured recently, left, and winning at the Olympics in 2004, right).
Putin has denied Russian involvement, but investigators say the plane was shot down by Kremlin-backed separatists using a Buk missile that had been supplied by the Russian military.
The Russian leader’s popularity ratings have fallen this year amid his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and poverty, and Putin may be looking to protect himself if the tide turns.
The president’s advisers have always scorned the notion that his health is failing, and Putin has cultivated an athletic image: riding horses, wrestling, playing ice hockey and swimming in freezing lakes.
The law comes just four months after Putin changed the constitution to allow him a tsar-like grip on power by seeking a new six-year term in 2024, and again in 2030, which means he would do so at 83. when he could relinquish power in 2036.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said of the senatorial change: “This is the practice that is being applied in many countries of the world and it is quite justified.
“This is not innovation from the point of view of international practice.”
