Russian President Putin’s ‘body double’ is named for the first time as a fourth-rate carpenter from Belarus
An alleged body double for Vladimir Putin has been named as a ‘fourth-rate carpenter’ from Belarus, claimed to have survived an assassination attempt.
Yevgeny Vasilyevich was identified as the ‘main doppelgänger’ for the Russian president today as it alleged he had been poisoned with ‘toxic substances’.
He ‘developed rashes on the skin of the upper and lower extremities and on the neck, which doctors initially mistook for an allergy’, elusive Russian Telegram account General SVR asserted today without providing evidence.
The channel, renowned for its audacious claims about Putin’s health, is among several sources claiming one or more Putin lookalikes are regularly deployed as body doubles for the 71-year-old, a theory supported by Ukrainian military intelligence.
Vasilyevich was also said to be a ‘fourth-rate carpenter’ from Belarus, according to a Russian political analyst.
Dr Valery Solovey, formerly a professor at a Moscow training academy for spies and diplomats, said Vasilyevich even stood in to deliver Putin’s New Year’s Eve rant.
Dr Solovey claimed outrageously in October 2023 that the Russian president had died and been replaced by body doubles, ultimately controlled by the former spymaster of Russia’s FSB security service.
Doctors were said to have plied alleged double Vasilyevich with medication but ‘when the test results became known, they urgently contacted’ security council chief Nikolai Patrushev, the General SVR channel asserted
‘The life of the backup was not in danger – probably the dose was too small.
‘Now they are trying to figure out how the toxic substance entered the body of the double.’
A probe was allegedly launched by the FSB and FSO security services into a suspected assassination bid, the channel claimed.
General SVR claims to have inside knowledge of the Kremlin while providing no hard evidence and being seen by many as a source of conspiracy theories.
General SVR also claimed last year Putin would pass over power to a former FSB chief in order to undergo surgery for cancer.
The Kremlin later denied Putin had died from cancer, saying the claims around his health were ‘absurd’.
Dr Valery Solovey, branded a ‘foreign agent’ by Russia, has also made several bold claims about Putin’s wellbeing.
The former professor suggested in his latest video that the carpenter lookalike had been trained by the Moscow secret services to play the role of Putin.
‘Those of you, dear friends, who saw the so-called New Year greeting of the so-called Russian President, probably noticed that it was very short,’ said Dr Solovey.
‘It was not just very short, it was one of the shortest in the history of Putin [New Year messages]… Why was it one of the shortest?
‘The answer is clear. So that you don’t look and listen. Not to look at the appearance and not to listen to the voice of the man. This man, Putin’s double, is called Yevgeny Vasilyevich.
‘He comes from Belarus. Originally from Belarus. Yevgeny Vasilyevich. Yes, a fourth-rate carpenter. That’s the truth.’
Dr Solovey did not give the alleged imposter’s surname, instead referring to him by his supposed first name Yevgeny, and patronymic, or middle name, Vasilyevich.