The Kremlin has denied reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin had a heart attack this past Sunday and that a body double has been used to hide Putin’s poor health. The denials come in response to a report from the Telegram Channel General SVR which claims to be run by a former Russian intelligence officer. Putin, who is 71, is said by the channel to have been found collapsed in his bedroom, “twisted convulsively on the floor rolling his eyes.” The channel also claims that while Putin’s doctors were able to resuscitate him, he was “very ill and unlikely to survive until the end of the fall.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday, “Everything is fine with him, this is absolutely another fake.” Regarding the rumor of a Putin body double, Peskov said, “This belongs to the category of absurd information hoaxes that a whole series of media discuss with enviable tenacity.”
