A bizarre moment during a meeting in Moscow once again fuels speculation that Vladimir Putin is using a lookalike. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev suddenly addressed him with the unknown name “Palleich”.
Journalist at HLN
Source: The Times, New York Post, Focus
During a meeting with the Russian president, Deputy Prime Minister Patrushev wanted to begin his explanation. In images distributed by the Kremlin itself, it sounds as if he says: “Palleich, thank you very much. I have prepared a presentation,” reports the American news site ‘The New York Post’.
A bizarre statement, because the obligatory title for the president is ‘Vladimir Vladimirovich’. The incident revives rumors of doppelgängers, especially after the Kremlin tried to alter the official transcript of the meeting.
“Vladimir Vladimirovich”
In the official report of the meeting, the Kremlin made no mention of “Palleich”. The transcription was changed to “Vladimir Vladimirovich”.
Even in Russia people raised eyebrows. The pro-Kremlink newspaper ‘Kommersant’ was left in the dark after seeing the images. “It seems like no one can explain what this was. Maybe he was overworked. Maybe he wanted to say something, but he regrouped,” he said.
Critics and opponents have been whispering for years that Putin is being replaced by look-alikes at public appearances for security reasons. They point out changes in his height or the shape of his ears.
Analysis with facial recognition
Yet there is a good chance that those rumors are not true. A 2024 analysis using facial recognition software from the Russian opposition group Meduza concluded that in all images examined there is a more than 99 percent chance that it is Putin himself.