A large team of doctors surrounds Vladimir Putin, who leaves nothing to chance as he approaches the age when he is most likely to develop serious problems.
The Russian investigative journalism group Proekt even reports that Yevgeny Selivanov, a surgeon who specializes in cancer, has visited Putin 35 times in four years - that is, about every 40 days - at his residence in Sochi, on the Black Sea. Selivanov has stayed there for a total of 166 days in that time.
Rumour has it that Putin has even resorted to alternative medicine and, among other things, bathed in the blood of deer antlers during a visit to the Altai region of Siberia. The practice, traditionally done for strength and longevity, yielded nothing, however.
The details of Putin's practices were brought to light by Proekt, following an investigation of published Russian government documents. They show, among other things, that doctors at the presidential clinic stayed at four different hotels near the presidential residence in Sochi between 2016 and 2020 while the president was in town or while he was mysteriously absent from public events.
The Kremlin, as the Times points out, has systematically denied any reports of Putin's health problems. In any case, the personal life of Russia's president is shrouded in mystery.
A team of doctors, according to Proekt, always arrives in Sochi ahead of the president, often significantly increasing in number.
The investigation showed that on at least two occasions, in 2016 and 2019, Putin had undergone surgery or a serious medical operation, possibly on his back. In 2016 he had not been seen in public for five days, and before that there were rumours that he had been injured while riding a horse and was limping.
By 2019, before the pandemic, the team of doctors accompanying Putin to Sochi had reached nine people. Of these, three were regulars (two otolaryngologists and Selivanov), while anaesthesiologists, a neurosurgeon, an infectious disease specialist and an intensivist were occasionally included in the team.
Alexei Sechglov, one of the ENT specialists, visited Sochi 59 times between 2016 and 2019 and stayed for a total of 282 days. Putin took the recommendation to keep his distance amid the pandemic very seriously. He was, after all, seen at his huge table welcoming foreign leaders.
The image of a dynamic, healthy Putin, who doesn't smoke or drink, has accompanied the Russian leader since he first took power in 2000, at the age of 47. He made sure to project it himself, playing judo or ice hockey, riding semi-naked or hunting in the Siberian taiga with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
However, some health issues did crop up from time to time. In 2010, during a visit to Ukraine, he appeared with scars on his cheekbones, possibly from plastic surgery. Two years later, government sources told reporters that the president had a back problem and wore an elastic belt. Last year, he described an accident he had with his horse, but did not say when it happened.
Source: in.gr
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