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Putin’s ‘poop’ protocol? Bizarre claims on Russia president's security detail resurface
Russia President Vladimir Putin arrived at a military base in Alaska on Friday for the summit with his US counterpart Donald Trump on the conflict in Ukraine.
Bizarre unconfirmed theories on Russian President Vladimir Putin are not uncommon and one of them, involving his “poop”, floated again amid his visit to the United States for meeting his counterpart Donald Trump in Alaska, a meet that took place on Saturday but did not yield an immediate ceasefire on the Russia-Ukraine war.
Russia President Vladimir Putin arrived at a military base in Alaska on Friday for the summit with his US counterpart Donald Trump on the conflict in Ukraine.
Putin's ‘poop’ collected?
Reports of Putin's bodyguards collecting his “poop” or fecal matter and bringing it back to Russia when the leader travels abroad surfaced again during his visit to Alaska.
Originally published in 2022, a report by two veteran investigative journalists – Regis Gente and Mikhail Rubin – in the French publication Paris Match claims that members of the Russian president’s Federal Protection Service (FPS) collect his human waste, including his faeces, when he travels abroad.
The report says Putin's excrement and urine contain vital information, suggesting that data of Russian president's waste could be analysed by foreign intelligence or spy agencies, giving them insight into his physical state and possibly much more.
"Among the cohort accompanying Vladimir Putin abroad, one person is tasked with collecting his natural excrement and taking it to Moscow. All of it. This is the clue, which has gone unnoticed, that his excrement and urine contain vital information... for the future of the world. So many traces of possible treatments to be concealed. We first learned of this "harvest" in October 2019, after Putin's visit to Saudi Arabia," the Paris Match report says.
This seemingly implies that the security detail could be to ensure that Putin's health parametres remain confidential.
Putin's waste placed in 'pouches'
Indirect sources cited in the Middle East cited in the 2022 report said that the “delicate mission” had been conducted under the supervision of the FSO, the Federal Protective Service, responsible for the security of Russian officials.
An agent had to place Putin's excrement in specially designed pouches, so as to leave no trace and bring everything back to the country in a special suitcase, the report says, adding that “absolute secrecy and intense pressure were used to force silence from the Russian embassy staff.”
This was a practice during Putin's visit to France on May 29, 2017 as well when Emmanuel Macron received him at Versailles, according to the report.
Regis Gente is an author who has written two books on Russia, while Mikhail Rubin has covered Russia for over ten years.
Ex-BBC journalist Farida Rustamova also reported such measures existed, pointing to Putin's visit to Vienna when he had his own private bathroom which included a portable toilet.
She said that a source revealed the president has carried out the practice since he began his leadership in 1999.
Rumours have swirled about 72-year-old Putin's health in recent years, with unconfirmed claims ranging from multiple cancers to Parkinson's disease.
During a press conference last November in Astana, Kazakhstan, concerns for Putin's health were raised as he appeared to be jerking his legs suddenly.
