The Kremlin was forced to issue a stunning denial on Friday after a widely shared report claimed that President Vladimir Putin had died at his home and that a double was being used as part of a coup attempt.
The popular Telegram channel “General SVR,” which is reportedly run by a former Russian intelligence officer with Kremlin insiders, had claimed that the 71-year-old war leader died in his forest palace.
“Attention! There is currently a coup attempt in Russia! Russian President Vladimir Putin died this afternoon at his residence in Valdai,” wrote General SVR, referring to the palace about 400 kilometers from Moscow.
“At 20:42 Moscow time, doctors stopped resuscitation and declared death.”
The anonymous author claimed that Putin’s doctors were confined in a room with his “corpse” by members of the presidential security team on the orders of Dmitry Kochnev, director of Russia’s Federal Protective Service.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who a Telegram channel said died on Thursday, was photographed on Friday chairing a Security Council meeting via video link. POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Kochnev was said to be receiving instructions directly from shadowy Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, one of Putin’s closest advisers.
“Security has been beefed up for the president’s double. Active negotiations are underway,” the channel stated.
“Any attempt to pass off a doppelganger as president after Putin’s death is a coup.”
The anonymous author claimed that Putin’s doctors were confined in a room with his “corpse” by members of the presidential security team on the orders of Dmitry Kochnev.Proekt/east2west news
In a follow-up post, the outlet alleged that a decision had been reached to form a coalition made up of members of Putin’s inner circle, led by Patrushev, “in order to maintain the current regime” using Putin’s body double. as a front man. .
“General SVR” later reported that Putin’s “corpse” had been unceremoniously placed inside a freezer previously used to store frozen foods.
The Kremlin denounced the report while sharing photos of Putin on Friday chairing a meeting with members of the Russian Security Council via video link in Moscow.
A Kremlin spokesman laughed off the double claims about the body. AP
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the rumors “absurd and false information.”
Peskov echoed an earlier comment he made earlier this week after the same Telegram channel reported that Putin had suffered cardiac arrest but was revived by his doctors.
“Everything is fine for him, this is absolutely another farce,” he told reporters Tuesday in response to a question about the president’s health.
Peskov also laughed at the body’s double claims, saying that “this belongs to the category of absurd information falsifications, which a whole series of media outlets discuss with enviable tenacity. This evokes nothing but a smile.”
The “General SVR” Telegram channel has repeatedly claimed, without providing any evidence, that Putin has been battling cancer and Parkinson’s disease, but disinformation researchers warned that the account is not credible.
“His mocking and dismissive attitude toward the Kremlin also appeals to English-speaking audiences. However, this channel lacks credibility, having (most likely) made false claims about Putin’s health before,” Scott Radnitz, professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies at the University of Washington, told the AP.
With postal cables
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Source: vtt.edu.vn