Russian leader Vladimir Putin was seen repeatedly scratching his face on a trip outside Moscow a day after the Kremlin assured he was healthy despite revealing that he had had multiple hospital examinations.
In an evident bid to demonstrate his robust health, Putin appeared before a crowd last night in the Russian city of Ufa as he paid a visit to the new fencing centre.
But footage of Putin meeting sports officials show him repeatedly rubbing and scratching his face and the back of his neck.
The Russian dictator – who is believed to have undergone repeated botox treatments to mask his ageing – had been seen dealing with similar itches a day earlier in Moscow.
It came after the Kremlin had insisted there was nothing untoward with Putin’s health after the dictator disclosed he was having ‘all sorts of regular examinations’ in a top Moscow hospital.
Vladimir Putin was caught on camera repeatedly itching his face on a visit to Ufa’s new fencing center
The Russian dictator – who is believed to have undergone repeated botox treatments to mask his ageing – had been seen dealing with similar itches a day earlier in Moscow
The reason for the mystery itches was not clear
Russian state media later announced that he had ‘no health problems’, and his spokesman said the hospital sessions were ‘routine’.
The reason for the mystery itches was not clear.
Putin’s health has been the subject of intense speculation for several years, as he has been spotted coughing incessantly, and his hands and feet making seemingly involuntary jerky movements.
Last month it was revealed that Russian scientists had been ordered to handover details of their latest research in fighting ageing in a suspected bid to rejuvenate Putin and his circle of septuagenarian cronies.
Putin has long had an interest in anti-ageing but there now appears a new urgency to seek ‘active longevity’, it was reported.
Major security measures suggesting paranoia over his safety were put in place ahead of the Kremlin leader’s visit.
Children in the city were ordered not to go to school for two days, and instead to undergo pandemic-style online classes from home.
Some schools gave the reason as the risk of viral infections in the city.
Yet others said it was because Putin was present for the ‘Russia — a Sports Power’ forum, during which he was seen meeting Paralympians, complaining they were banned from international contests because sport had been ‘politicised’ by the West.
If there was a risk of the spread of viral infections, it seems odd Putin plunged into a seemingly random crowd in Ufa, which is the capital of the Russian Republic of Bashkortostan.
Putin’s health has been the subject of intense speculation for several years
Putin made a surprise visit to Ufa city where he met Paralympian competitors
‘From the teachers, thank you,’ blurted one female admirer as Putin went on his rare walkabout.
The Kremlin leader complained that children from poor families were being excluded from sport in Russia because parents were expected to pay – unlike in the Soviet era.
He demanded a return to the USSR system of free access to op training for all talented children.
‘I’ll tell you honestly, if I had to pay for everything when I was actively involved in sports, I would never have become a USSR Master of Sports in Sambo [a Russian martial art], and would never have achieved the standard of a Master of Sports of the Soviet Union in Judo.
‘My family didn’t have an extra penny to pay for everything.
‘But we need to sort this out properly.
‘There should be no fees at all for low-income and large families.’