Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday revealed there was a secret plan to use a double to make public appearances for him, while insisting he vetoed it — and that he is the real Putin.
Putin’s comments showed that a conspiracy theory widespread on the internet that the Russian strongman has been impersonated over the years or even replaced by a lookalike is not entirely without basis. TASS state news agency showed Putin a list of popular Russian-language Internet searches including “Putin double proof”.
“Are you real?” the interviewer asked. “Yes,” said Putin. He said he has never had a double but when asked if the idea had ever been discussed, he confirmed it had.