Vladimir Putin's Body Double Controversy: Examining Claims of Multiple Lookalikes Amid India Visit

Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to arrive in India on Thursday for a two-day diplomatic engagement. During his visit, he will attend a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and participate in the 23rd India-Russia Summit on December 5.

This high-profile visit reignites persistent speculations about Putin's health and numerous reports suggesting his use of body doubles for certain public appearances. For years, unverified conspiracy theories have circulated online claiming that the Russian leader employs lookalikes for security reasons or to hide potential health issues.

Ukraine's military intelligence chief, Major General Kyrylo Budanov, made headlines in 2022 when he asserted that Putin utilizes at least three body doubles who have undergone plastic surgery to achieve his appearance. Budanov suggested these doubles might be deployed to conceal Putin's possible diminishing control within the Kremlin power structure.

Budanov expressed confusion regarding Russia's invasion strategy, questioning whether the authentic Putin continues to make critical decisions. "No matter how bad he was in the past, he was not an idiot," Budanov remarked, adding that Russia's military campaign "does not follow any logic."

According to Budanov, these doubles initially appeared only at special events, but their deployment has since become commonplace. He claimed they can be identified through subtle differences in height, mannerisms, body language, and distinctive features such as earlobe shape.

Similar theories emerged after the Alaska Summit between US President Donald Trump and Putin in August 2024. Conspiracy theorists claimed Putin sent a body double to the meeting, pointing to alleged differences in facial structure and demeanor. Ukrainian social media amplified these claims despite consistent Kremlin denials.

During a televised press conference in 2023, Putin directly addressed these rumors when a student questioned him about artificial intelligence concerns and potential body double use. Interestingly, the question appeared to come through an AI-generated deepfake of Putin himself. The Russian president denied using body doubles and acknowledged the deepfake as his "first twin."

"You can talk like me and use my voice, my pitch, but I figured only one person can speak like myself and use my voice, and this is going to be me," Putin stated during this unusual exchange.

Health-related speculation has surrounded Putin for years. In 2022, the Telegram channel General SVR, purportedly run by a high-ranking Kremlin insider, claimed Putin was using deepfakes and doubles for public appearances due to deteriorating health conditions.

This channel has repeatedly alleged that Putin suffers from multiple ailments including dementia, various cancers, and Parkinson's disease. Reports claimed he cancelled several engagements following episodes of dizziness and headaches, supposedly linked to Parkinson's, while his alleged cancer was reportedly progressing and affecting his overall condition and performance.

Putin himself has previously addressed these rumors, stating in a 2020 interview that he rejected proposals to use body doubles during the early 2000s Chechen conflict, when he frequently visited the volatile region. He told the BBC that he declined such suggestions whenever they were presented.

The Kremlin has consistently refuted claims about Putin using lookalikes. In 2023, a Kremlin spokesperson dismissed such allegations, telling Reuters, "This belongs to the category of absurd information hoaxes that a whole series of media discuss with enviable tenacity. This evokes nothing but a smile."