Many strange changes have occurred in the behavior of Russian President Vladimir Putin in a short period of time, which raises doubts whether everything is as it seems, writes limon.postimees.ee.
“He has two faces. He behaves completely differently at one moment than at another. He is like a chameleon, whose behavior changes completely depending on the circumstances,” this is how Putin’s former speechwriter Abbas Galyamov described the Russian president to the Finnish publication “Ilta-Sanomat” in October 2022 .
Since then, the changes in Putin’s behavior and personality have become even more rapid and striking.
“Over the years, and especially recently, there have been noticeable changes and contradictions in his character and behavior. In one video he looks quite bad, but in the next one he looks in relatively good mental and physical shape,” says Jussi Lassila, senior researcher at the Finnish Foreign Policy Institute.
Together with experts, the newspaper analyzed the speeches of the Russian president and the various changes that took place during this time.
Putin was very confident in his victory speech in Moscow: “All these tasks will be solved and the goals will definitely be achieved.”
The president, who has a black belt in judo, won 87.33 percent of the vote in Russia’s presidential election. He was in such a hurry to deliver his speech that his young entourage struggled to keep up with him.
Both on video and in public, he was seen with shaking hands, a swollen face and a sleepy look, leading to speculation about his health.
“When the election victory was announced, you could see a more active and faster Putin,” says body language expert Sami Sallinen. “When talking to young people, it is especially important to show the president young and healthy. They wanted to emphasize that young people can barely keep up with Putin when he wants to speak.”
Lassila noted that during the election campaign itself, Putin’s speeches were short, which caused a lot of doubt.
“There has been speculation that the footage was pre-filmed and then released at a specific time for PR purposes. And Putin was supposedly here and there, held a meeting, but then it turned out that nothing like that happened,” said Lassila.
He suspects that at least some of the videos are edited.
“And of course there’s another factor that we don’t currently have direct evidence for, but there are doubts that artificial intelligence is behind the photo processing,” says Lassila. “It’s pretty easy to smooth out and change his face in regular photos, but these days, motion shots can be handled quite successfully.”
On March 22, armed terrorists attacked the Crocus City Hall concert hall.
The attackers killed at least 137 people in 20 minutes. Putin, who portrays himself as a guarantor of stability and security, took nearly 20 hours to publicly comment on the massacre.
When the dictator finally appeared on the screen, his face again showed a clear change – he lacked self-confidence.
“Putin’s face showed sleepless nights – red eyes, and the self-confidence characteristic of his election victory was gone,” says Sallinen. “We are used to seeing much brighter performances when Putin promises revenge and revenge. Now he looked tired, his speech was surprisingly quiet and he had an extremely calm voice.”
According to Sallinen, there was reason to believe that Putin would talk about the bloodshed in the concert hall in a loud voice, with a straight back and a stern look.
“But instead he retreated, closed himself off. He folded his hands as if giving up and looked very tired. This might have been because he was reading the text without prior preparation, in which case he didn’t have time to repeat important passages, but I think , that the attack happened unexpectedly and really scared the Russian president.”
Rapid and strange changes in Putin’s character and behavior have been noticed more than once – last June, when the military leader Yevgeny Prigozhin sent his private military company (PMC) Wagner to Moscow, for several hours it seemed that the unit would be allowed to go all the way to the Kremlin.
At that time, it seemed that not only the services responsible for security, but also Putin himself, had left the game.
Only when Prigozhin’s reconciliation with the Russian leadership was announced did an angry and shocked Putin appear on television. The performance lasted five minutes, during which the president thanked the citizens for their patriotism and claimed that he had given the order to avoid bloodshed.
However, within days, a completely different Putin appeared on the screen. The changes were dramatic. The president was photographed among the crowd, taking selfies, chatting and even kissing a young girl on the cheek.
As reported by the Kremlin, the photos were taken in Dagestan, located two thousand kilometers from Moscow, on the coast of the Caspian Sea.
Lassila asked a question that had not yet been clarified.
“What stands out about his appearance is that when you look at his face, it’s very different in different contexts. It’s incomprehensible to me,” Lassila said.
In late 2023, the Japanese television channel TBS reported on facial recognition experts who analyzed Putin’s public appearances with the help of artificial intelligence.
“The result said different people were seen on different occasions, not the same person,” Lassila said.
Already during the coronavirus, Putin became known for very strict quarantine requirements and avoiding contact with people. Against this background, Putin’s appearance in Dagestan just days after Prigozhin’s coup attempt seems all the more strange.
Experts consider it a staging and a PR stunt.
“The fact that Putin has turned from an angry hooligan into an uncle who caresses children shows a planned image. Non-verbal communication is an important part of our communication. We remember more how things are said than what is said. Putin uses this opportunity and creates thoughtful images depending on the context and place.”
A few years ago, it was very rare to see a nervous and insecure Putin.
In the first spring of the Ukrainian war in 2022, Putin’s hands clasped tightly on the table during a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu caught the attention of many. The parade in honor of Victory Day on May 9 of the same year was also discussed. Then Putin sat next to elderly war veterans with a blanket on his lap, as if he too was a retired veteran.
Just four months later, after signing an agreement to annex the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, Putin took part in a public celebration in Moscow’s Red Square, where there was no sign of his weakness.
“It can also indicate that stress and mental strain are sometimes taking their toll. You can see it in his face and body language when something goes wrong,” say experts.
What conclusions can we draw from Putin’s strange changes?
“Of course, such things raise understandable doubts and various conspiracy theories about Putin’s dictatorial system and his carefully guarded public image,” says Lassila.
“Many have noticed Putin’s recent signs of weakness. The Kremlin took note of that and I don’t think we will see them again. A military leader cannot afford to show physical weakness, because losing control subconsciously is tantamount to losing power.”
Lassila recalled that the use of body doubles dates back to ancient times, and such techniques have been widely used many times, giving a person more than one face.
