SUSPICIONS surrounding Vladimir Putin's alleged use of body doubles have again been roused after a waxwork-like selfie of him emerged.
The Russian President looked eerily rigid as he smiled for a snap with his longtime pal and Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov.
Putin's stiff and plastic appearance has invited a host of speculation – as well as some comparisons to a Madame Tussauds model.
He met with his crony Kadyrov on Tuesday, shortly before addressing his troops in wake of the Wagner Group coup.
The 70-year-old despot told the carefully selected crowd of generals and soldiers they had stopped a "civil war" and "proved their loyalty."
Amid the explosive fallout from the march on Moscow spearheaded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, some suggested paranoid Putin could have gone into hiding for his own protection.
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The weary-looking leader has been rocked by the rebellion, which is the biggest challenge to his iron fist rule since he rose to power in the aftermath of the collapsed Soviet Union.
After his old ally and "favourite chef" Prigozhin turned on him, it is rumoured Putin is relying on body doubles for his own safety.
The waxwork image of him has done little to quell the whispers, as his face looks pale and thin while he appears visibly exhausted.
It was shared on Twitter by Ukraine's Advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Anton Gerashcenko.
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He wrote: "In the photo, Kadyrov is very large and overwhelms Putin, who looks very small and old.
"By the way, how many days did Kadyrov spend in quarantine before the meeting? Or is it not necessary for THIS Putin?"
His drained demeanor and sunken face proves a stark contrast to recent footage, where the tyrant is seen with fuller, swollen cheeks.
He was a social butterfly during a trip to the Dagestan Republic late on Wednesday, as he dived among the crowds in Derbent.
Putin – notorious for keeping a 60ft distance from ambassadors and his use of absurdly long tables for meetings – got up close and personal with his supporters.
Evidently full of energy, he even bizarrely planted a kiss on the head of a young girl who excitedly grabbed a selfie with him.
He shockingly hugged well-wishers during the swarm in the remote region where he was welcomed like a rock star.
But his peculiar U-turn on public affection has only fuelled rumours that Putin is sending doppelgangers in his place.
His transformation into an extrovert has left many experts believing the warlord is staging "theatrical productions" to fool the world of his confidence in the Ukraine war with lookalikes.
Just weeks ago, he was demanding that any visitors meeting with him in Moscow or St Petersburg had to quarantine for two weeks.
Despite the strict measures, he would often still keep a wary distance from them even though they had abided by his isolation rules.
In another strange moment, Putin was seen shaking hands with an officer carrying what could have been his terrifying briefcase with the controls of Russia’s fearsome nuclear arsenal.
Something is not right here. It looks like a theatrical production in which Putin is not really Putin.
He also appeared to adjust something on the uniform of the soldier, although he has not greeted his security apparatchiks in such a way previously.
A longtime Moscow diplomat said it is becoming "impossible to believe that there is only one Putin."
He claimed: "There are several – very good lookalikes, yet they behave somewhat differently.
"I am assuming the real one is looking weak and sickly yet smiling with Kadyrov.
"This one diving into the crowd in Dagestan behaves differently to the traditional Putin."
Commentator Viktor Alksnis, a Soviet military tactician and politician who is now a Western-based analyst known as the Black Colonel, said: "Why is Putin meeting with visitors in the Kremlin after their two-week quarantine and at a great distance, while in Derbent is calmly into the crowd and even hugs and kisses some citizens?
"How can the physical security of the president be ensured under such conditions? Something is not right here.
"It looks like a theatrical production in which Putin is not really Putin."
Popular pro-war analyst Igor Strelkov directly accused the President of using a body double in Dagestan in a furious post.
"A person vaguely resembling the president – and not at all requiring compliance with the two-week quarantine necessary to get an appointment with [Putin] – was walking around Derbent," he said.
'RENT-A-CROWD'
At the same time, coup leader Yevgeny Prigozhin – supposedly exiled in Belarus after the failed armed revolt – has been seen "driving around Moscow, and then St. Petersburg."
He provided no evidence for the Prigozhin claim.
Another explanation may be that Putin flew two hours south from Moscow to find a cheering rent-a-crowd that may have been harder to find in the capital.
His former speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov said: "Putin needs a picture surrounded by people so much now that for this he even forgot about Covid, quarantine and social distance.
"Apparently, it was impossible to provide an enthusiastic reception in Moscow or any other Russian region, so he had to fly to [Dagestan].
"Here….it is easier to organise an enthusiastic crowd."
Independent news outlet Agentstvo said it was the first time since before the pandemic that Putin had been seen in such a crowd.
"For the first time since March 2020, the president did not keep his distance and even kissed the child," said the outlet’s Telegram channel.
"At the same time, two weeks ago, all the guests who met with him continued to strictly observe quarantine."
Kirill Martynov, editor of independent Novaya Gazeta Europe, said: "This is all very strange.
PUTIN'S 'UNDERSTUDIES'
"The place of meeting is strange, as is Putin hugging people all of a sudden. He normally doesn't do that.
"Where is the [long] table? It's a riddle. I really don't like stupid conspiracy theories but the feeling that there are two Putins is growing.
"It might be the same person, but different behaviour models. One sits in quarantine, one can be hugged in Derbent."
Yet it has also been suggested that slippery Putin may have forced the entire rent-a-crowd to isolate ahead of his visit.
Telegram channel General SVR – which claims almost all recent Putin appearances have been by body doubles due to him suffering from cancer and other health problems – said: "The doppelgänger hugged and kissed with absolutely unfamiliar old women and young ladies, including, apparently, minors, and the number of handshakes of the president's double with strangers exceeded all reasonable limits…..
"In general, the show was a success, ‘Putin’ in Derbent was greeted more emotionally than Kim Jong-un."
The channel claims that actors have undergone plastic surgery to resemble Putin and are being deployed when to meet crowds of people or when the president is incapacitated.
One alleged actor is seen as far more tactile than the real Putin.
It has been claimed that his lookalikes are now even stepping in to make speeches as the despot's health worsens.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously suggested that the leader may already be dead, amid suspicions he used a "chroma key" green screen to fake meetings that he did not really attend.
A video claiming to prove Putin uses doppelgangers by putting a magnifier on his varying facial features went viral in March.
Rumours have continued to persist that he now relies heavily on his "understudies" to stand in for him as he struggles to disguise his ailing health.
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