According to a recent story, Russian President Vladimir Putin is going to undergo cancer surgery and temporarily hand over authority to a tough former federal police head.
According to a video posted on Saturday by the mysterious Telegram channel “General SVR,” Putin would hand over the authority of Russia’s government to Nikolai Patrushev, the head of the Russian federal police’s Security Council, while he remains paralysed during and after the procedure.
Putin has been advised by physicians that he must undergo surgery, according to the channel, which is supposedly controlled by a former Russian Foreign Intelligence Service lieutenant general known under the alias “Viktor Mikhailovich.”
Putin is expected to be incapacitated for “a short period” as a result of the surgery and recovery, according to the unsubstantiated story.
“Putin is unlikely to agree to hand over power for a longer period of time,” the narrator of the video states, adding that the control of the country will likely be in Patrushev’s hands for no more than two to three days.
“I will say that this is the worst option,” the narrator adds. “Patrushev is an outright villain. He is no better than Vladimir Putin. Moreover, he is a more cunning, and I would say, more insidious person than Vladimir Putin. If he comes to power, Russians’ problems will only multiply.”
“Viktor Mikhailovich” ominously hinted that he and his allies “will make certain efforts so this does not happen, and I hope we will succeed.”
The footage comes after a revelation from Russian investigative outlet The Project, which claimed in a lengthy exposé on the strongman’s health that he had seen a cancer doctor 35 times in recent years. Putin has become so concerned about his health, according to the outlet, that he has turned to unusual and brutal treatments.
Putin is reported to bathe in deer antler blood, which is extracted while the antlers are still growing and full of new blood, according to the publication. In Russia’s Altai area, which borders Khazakstan and Mongolia, the unpleasant “antler baths” are an alternative medicine.
According to The Project, believers claim that the baths boost the cardiovascular system and rejuvenate the skin.
Meanwhile, an oncologist named Evgeny Selivanov has reportedly made hundreds of secret visits to Putin’s Sochi holiday residence in just four years, according to the outlet.
“During this time, medical experts assume the president was undergoing a difficult procedure connected to some type of thyroid condition.”
The narrator of Saturday’s film darkly joked that he didn’t want to offer viewers “false optimism” because Putin’s disease is growing.
Putin, 70, has been rumoured to be suffering from cancer and a variety of other serious illnesses, including Parkinson’s disease, due to his sickly appearance and uncommonly fidgety conduct in public.
Putin’s alleged health issues come at an unsuitable time, with the war in Ukraine already in its fourth month and Russia suffering huge casualties on the battlefield.
Patrushev allegedly had a two-hour “heart-to-heart” talk with Putin, according to a Telegram post published Thursday.
“We know Putin told Patrushev that he considers him to be basically his only trusted partner and buddy in the government,” according to the post. “In addition, the president guaranteed that if his health deteriorates, actual control of the country would be temporarily transferred to Patrushev.”
The creators of the Telegram group said in early April that Putin’s doctors had advised surgery for later that month, but it never happened.
Since at least November 2020, “General SVR” has been reporting on Putin’s alleged oncology diagnosis, stating that the Russian dictator has colon cancer.
When Putin was seen forcefully grasping a desk at a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu last month, new worries were raised about his physical condition.
Putin’s medical concerns have been rejected by the Kremlin on numerous occasions.
