(MOSCOW) – A technical error by the Kremlin press service has inadvertently exposed the declining physical health of the Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin. During the publication of a traditional video greeting for International Women’s Day on 8 March, an unedited six-minute version of the speech was briefly uploaded to official Telegram channels. The uncut footage featured the Russian dictator struggling with a persistent cough, snorting, and complaining of a sore throat before demanding that his speech be rewritten.
The video was quickly deleted and replaced with a polished, abridged version stripped of the coughing fits and pauses. However, the original file was widely downloaded by internet users. Technical metadata embedded in the leaked file revealed that the footage was recorded approximately three hours prior to its publication. Despite the Kremlin’s usual practice of cleaning metadata to obscure the timing and location of the Russian dictator’s activities, this specific file remained unscrubbed.
While the Russian dictator has previously attributed similar coughing episodes to air conditioning, as seen during a 2024 broadcast, the incident undermines a long-standing propaganda narrative. For decades, the Kremlin has projected an image of the Russian dictator as possessing superhuman endurance and perfect health. This rare glimpse of vulnerability has sparked internal concerns within Russia, where public sentiment is shifting following potential military escalations involving Iran. During recent street interviews, some Russian citizens expressed anxiety, stating, “We are next,” suggesting a growing realisation that the Kremlin’s foreign policy adventures carry domestic risks.
In a further display of diplomatic inconsistency, Russian state media, led by propagandist Vladimir Solovyov, has begun distancing Moscow from its strategic partner, Tehran. Solovyov claimed that Iran is responsible for its own lack of military assistance because it allegedly failed to ask Moscow or China for help. This shift in rhetoric follows years of promoting a global coalition against the West. Observers note that the Kremlin’s “thoughts and prayers” approach to its allies—including the regimes of Bashar al-Assad, Nicolas Maduro, and the Iranian leadership—demonstrates that Moscow’s strategic friendships are highly conditional.
A routine video from the Kremlin honoring International Women’s Day turned unexpectedly awkward after an apparent production mistake. For a brief moment, an unedited version of Vladimir Putin’s speech appeared online, showing the Russian dictator struggling with a cough.
The clip was quickly replaced with a shorter, more polished version but people still managed to download the uncut version, too. Join Jonasz Rewiński in a new episode of Break The Fake to see the full video of Putin and what exactly the Kremlin is trying to hide from us.
