The health of Russian President Vladimir Putin keeps the world on edge. This after A British newspaper published this weekend that the president has a cancerous tumor that has been afflicting him for some time and that he also suffers from Parkinson’s disease.
(Also read: Putin would be operated on for a cancerous tumor)
According to the ‘Daily Mail’, Putin would be forced to cede power to undergo surgery for an abdominal cancer that afflicts him.
This is what is known about the health problems that the Russian leader would face.
When did the rumors about Putin’s health begin?
President Vladimir Putin’s personal life has generally been a mystery to the public. His health has also been a question mark.
But the rumors officially started in 2020 when Valery Solovei, a political analyst, quoted Kremlin sources as saying that Putin has thyroid cancer and Parkinson’s.
Why did these rumors resurface?
Rumors about possible health problems that Putin might be facing have gained strength in recent weeks thanks to videos in which the president has strange attitudes.
The video that ignited the debate portrays a meeting between the Russian president and his defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, in which they discussed the “liberation” of the city of Mariupol.
In the clip, the president can be seen holding on tightly to the table, as if trying to give himself stability. There you can also see Putin with a strange movement in one of his legs.
The man looks awkward and hunched over, an unusual posture for him.
(You may be interested in: Vladimir Putin: President’s video revives rumors about his health)
Other videos compiled by international media show the unstable movements of President Putin in recent weeks.
For this, his critics have begun to make multiple comments. For example, A few days ago, a Ukrainian journalist claimed that Putin is looking more deteriorated with each passing day of the war.
“Is it just me or does Putin really seem less sane and healthy with each day of war? I can see a drastic difference between now and the end of February,” Illia Ponomarenko, a journalist for The Kyiv Independent, wrote on Twitter.
Is this just me or Putin really looks less healthy and sound with each and every day of the war?
I can see a drastic difference between now and late February.— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) April 21, 2022
This being the case, what diseases do you assure Putin would have?
Following the images of Putin that have gone viral, speculations revived that the president could be suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
According to the Mayo Clinic, this is a progressive disease of the nervous system that affects movement. “Tremors are common, although the disease also usually causes stiffness or decreased movement,” indicates the medical portal.
(You can read: Russia ‘has already made the decision to attack Moldova’, according to ‘The Times’)
Last month, for example, Louise Mensch, an author and former UK Member of Parliament, published an article speculating that Putin might be hiding an illness.
“I reported that Vladimir Putin has Parkinson’s disease and here you can see him gripping the table so his shaking hand isn’t visible, but he can’t stop his foot from hitting,” the woman tweeted.
As I reported last month, British intelligence sources confirmed to me that he has Parkinson’s disease and has to consult doctors multiple times a week. https://t.co/BCRQzARFMf
— Louise Mensch 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@LouiseMensch) April 21, 2022
But now, a publication in the ‘Daily Mail’ added that, in addition to Parkinson’s, Putin would be suffering from abdominal cancer that has afflicted him for 18 months.
What is known about possible cancer?
The British newspaper assures that the affirmations that Putin suffers from cancer appear in the General SVR channel, of Telegram, which cites an important source within the Kremlin.
This source assures that Putin has abdominal cancer: “Russian President Vladimir Putin has oncology, and the latest problems identified during his last examination are associated with this disease”.
This person added: “He also suffers from Parkinson’s disease and schizoaffective disorder.”
(Also: Ukraine: UN evacuates over 100 civilians from Azovstal plant)
So could Putin undergo various treatments?
Yes. According to the ‘Daily Mail’, Putin must undergo surgery because the disease has been progressing rapidly.
However, the source says that the surgical procedure, which was originally due to take place in mid-April, has been delayed due to the war in Ukraine and the multiple occupations and responsibilities of the Russian leader.
Now, they are waiting to schedule the surgery, but it would not happen before May 9, the date on which Russia commemorates Victory Day in World War II.
“Putin was recommended to undergo surgery, the date of which is being discussed and agreed upon,” said the sources, who claim, however, that surgery is not extremely urgent, but it is necessary.
(Also read: ‘Hitler had Jewish blood’: Russian statement causes controversy in Israel)
What does the Kremlin say about the rumours?
Russian authorities have consistently denied that Putin has any health problems. In fact, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, spoke a few days ago after a journalist asked him about the Russian president’s health.
“Fiction and lies” was Peskov’s qualification of the rumour.
And what happens if Putin does undergo surgery?
According to the quoted newspaper, Putin would not accept a total transfer of power in the event of undergoing surgery, so he would only commission the control of Russia on a temporary basis, that is, for two or three days.
“While Putin has the operation and comes to his senses, probably in two or three days, the real control of the country passes only to Nikolai Patrushev”, affirmed a former Russian soldier.
According to Russian policy, in case the president is absent it is the prime minister who should assume power, so the temporary appointment of Patrushev would be a move considered strange.
However, the source states that “the president promised that in the event of a sharp deterioration in his health, the actual management of the country would be transferred, temporarily, to Patrushev.”
Who is Nikolai Patrushev, the person who would be left in charge?
Nikolai Patrushev is the head of the Russian Security Council and a hard-line former FSB chief. The 70-year-old is considered one of the strategists of the war in Ukraine.
Patrushev is accused of having convinced Putin that Ukraine was “inundated with neo-Nazis”, which is why the invasion that began on February 24 has been justified.
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