【美国《华人》传媒编辑唐钊2022年4月3日】Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu fishing in Tuva in 2017. (Getty Images)

The physical health and mental health of Russian President Vladimir Putin has recently drawn more attention due to the war against Ukraine. An investigative report by the Russian independent media Project pointed out that Putin, who will turn 70 in October, is indeed not as vigorous as the political propaganda presented, and he will soak in the deer antler essence bath for "enhancing his health".

The investigative report, conducted in collaboration with Project journalists in different countries, checked and matched a large amount of public information, high-level sources and insiders, and showed several symptoms of Vladimir Putin's health deterioration in recent years, as well as his interaction and complex interests with political and business elites and medical professionals.

Project Media, Inc., which has been declared an "undesirable organization", has been moving journalists out of Russia since last July and has maintained operations overseas due to Moscow's strong clampdown on freedom of speech.

According to the audio-visual photos and textual materials that are not difficult for the general public to access, Putin travels all over the places for personal and business purposes, with a strong physique image, his "close female companions" changed frequently, and his physical function is obviously better than that of Boris Yeltsin and other leaders of Russia and the Soviet Union who are at a similar age, and it is reasonable to expect that he will rule Russia until 2036 in accordance with the powers enshrined in the constitution.

However, since his first presidency at the age of 47 in 2000, Putin's health has been strictly kept secret by the Kremlin, and the outside world will only be told that Putin has a "cold". But according to reports, Putin suffers from at least lower back pain, and he is apparently worried about cancer.

Putin was a keen equestrian in the 2000s. He was injured when he fell off a horse and was unable to stand properly for a while. On November 4, 2012, during the official celebration of "National Unity Day", Putin was visibly lame, but the Kremlin strictly prohibited the media from reporting relevant details.

In fact, Putin was already lame at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which was hosted by Russia in September of that year, and the Kremlin subsequently cancelled many trips outside Moscow for Putin. In December of the same year, the Kremlin was forced to shorten Putin's single event time: due to health reasons, he could not sit for more than an hour. Officials said Putin needed surgery.

It was also from that time that the Kremlin took new measures to release pre-made news videos and photos to prevent blocking and countering the outside world's doubts about Putin's health. This method is used more and more frequently.

 As he got older, Putin became more and more fascinated by various remedies that could help "prolong life." Although his official propaganda image included a love of animals, he was willing to have the Siberian red deer (big-horned deer) brutally sawn off its antlers, which were not yet ossified, but still soft and full of blood, in order to obtain the antler essence.

According to reports, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu first shared with Putin the magic of taking a "deer antler bath" during his tenure as Russia's emergency minister from 1994 to 2012. Sergei Shoigu, who was born in Tuva (in the area known as "Tannu Ulianghai" in history) and is keen to portray himself as a descendant of Mongolian heroes, claims that a bloody antler bath can strengthen the cardiovascular system and revitalize the skin.

The report pointed out that Putin tried to become a customer, which partly explains why he likes to travel with Sergei Shoigu in the Altai region so much.

The news that Putin "just loves it" spread quickly in the political and business elite circles. Like other Putin remedies for longevity, including Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, state-run Gazprom chairman Alexei Miller, and others also have favorable feelings about deer antler and antler baths.

The report pointed out that Putin is keen on "non-traditional medicine", but many of his relatives and friends have medical-related professional backgrounds, and these people often use nepotism to expand their turf in politics and business. However, what is more noteworthy is that this phenomenon can also be seen in some medical staff who are close to Putin, and Putin's medical team continues to expand.

According to reports, Putin's medical team currently has at least 60 people, with an average of 9 medical staff accompanying each trip.

The most common co-occurrences with Putin are ENT and thyroid cancer surgeons. One reason is that ENT-related symptoms can help early diagnosis of thyroid cancer.

In addition, people familiar with the matter pointed out that Putin has been visiting the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow, which is responsible for the health of high-level political leaders, more and more frequently in recent years. At the same time, more and more medical staff went to Putin's location to stand by, treat and accompany him.

Putin made several visits to the southern Russian resort of Sochi, where he fell and was injured while playing hockey. The investigative reporting team compared Putin’s stay at the official residence and the time when medical staff from Moscow and other places went to Sochi to stay in hotels or recuperation facilities near the official residence, and found that between 2016 and 2020, when Putin was reclusive or visited Sochi, he often accompanied by a group of doctors and nurses, the professional fields cover ENT, surgery, neurosurgery, intensive care, anesthesia, skin, venereal diseases, oncology, infectious diseases, etc.

According to reports, Putin has undergone at least two major surgeries, in 2016 and 2019, possibly on the back.

Putin's mental state has also sparked discussions in the medical community in recent years, especially after the global epidemic broke out in early 2020 and Putin gradually moved towards normal "self-isolation". He is also extremely afraid of being infected. In addition to maintaining a social distance of more than 2 meters from others, according to public information, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz before the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war. When Marcon met with Putin, he was asked by the Kremlin to hand in a stool sample in advance. After the request failed, the Kremlin asked Macron and others to talk with Putin at a 6-meter long table.

(Source: Central News Agency)

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