Putin Set for Cancer Surgery, Will Hand Over Power to “Russia’s Most Dangerous Man”

On April 30, quoted from some sources familiar with Kremlin’s affairs, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was diagnosed with cancer and Parkinson’s disease earlier, has recently seen his condition deteriorate rapidly, and the surgery was repeatedly deferred due to the war despite the multiple requests from Putin’s attending physician. Recently, the attending doctor diagnosed Putin with another severe disease induced by cancer, resulting in Putin needing to complete the surgery near in time.

According to the source, Putin will temporarily hand over power to former Russian Federal Security Chief Nikolai Patrushev when undergoing cancer surgery.

As seen from the outside, Patrushev, 70, known as “the most dangerous man in Russia,” is a pivotal figure in the Russian-Ukrainian war. The source said it was Patrushev who convinced Putin that Kyiv was full of “neo-Nazis,” and Putin had personally told Patrushev that he was the only individual he trusted within the government.

Noteworthy, under the Russian constitution, when the president fails to fulfill his duties, he should temporarily transfer his power to the Prime Minister, namely, the 56-year-old Mishustin. However, Mishustin is a low-key technocrat who has never had any special connections to either the military or the Secret Service.

Previously, many reports had pointed out Putin’s swollen face and weird sitting posture during his meeting with Defense Minister Shoigu. During the whole conversion process, Putin held the table corner with one of his hands, and his right foot constantly tapped the ground, leading to people doubting that Putin’s health may have some problems, even suffering from Parkinson’s, cognitive impairment, or cancer.

Moreover, the footage of his meeting with Belarusian President Lukashenko in February almost ensured the outside world of Putin’s health problems, as the video showed his stumbling gait when walking toward Lukashenko and uncontrollable shaking hands when clutching the armrests.