A bizarre new report has claimed Vladimir Putin's bodyguards collect his excrement on trips abroad so they can take it back to Russia.
Speculation into the health of the Russian leader has ramped up since his attack on Ukraine in February, with some suggesting he may have cancer or Parkinson’s disease.
However, rumours have been circulating for years, and these took a fresh turn with allegations made by investigative journalists and Russia experts Régis Genté and Mikhail Rubin.
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In a recent report for French news magazine Paris Match, they describe how sources told them Putin's excrement and urine is collected by members of his Federal Protection Service (FPS) in order to protect it from outside forces getting hold of it to gather intel on his health.
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A translated segment of the article states: "An agent had to place Putin's excrement in pockets provided for this purpose to not leave any trace and bring everything back to the country in a special suitcase."
They added that they know of two separate occasions when his waste was 'harvested', as they put it – once during the Russian leader's visit to France in May 2017 and then again in October 2019 while dropping in on Saudi Arabia.
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Independent journalist and ex-BBC Russia reporter Farida Rustamova took to Twitter to discuss the claims, writing: "So yesterday @ParisMatch reported that Vladimir Putin travels abroad with a special [poop emoji] suitcase. According to the journalists, Putin's guards collect his stools in bags and deliver them to Moscow."
While she did confirm the unusual toilet habits of the Russian president, she said she knows of a slightly different arrangement.
"At least sometimes all secret substances are being destroyed immediately on the spot," she continued, describing how none other than Seinfeld star Julia Louis-Dreyfus got the inside scoop while visiting the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
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"The museum staff revealed they had to set up a special private bathroom outside the museum for Putin to use when he needed to," added Rustamova.
"They also told her that Putin uses the same 'porta-potty' as Louis-Dreyfus called it while traveling and on board his plane."
Rustamova said this was backed up by a source who is an 'old acquaintance of Putin's' telling her that the practice of taking his toilet on trips has 'been around for years'.
Last month, British intelligence sources were quoted as saying Putin was seriously ill, something the Kremlin continues to deny amid the ongoing attack on Ukraine.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told French TV station TF1 at the time: "I don't think that sane people can see in this person signs of some kind of illness or ailment. You can watch him on screens, read and listen to his speeches.
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"I leave it to the conscience of those who spread such rumours despite daily opportunities to assess how anyone is looking."
However, given the government's propensity to conceal information about its leader and country, many people continue to believe otherwise.
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Topics: Vladimir Putin, Russia, World News
