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The 40-year-old is standing at the table tennis table in his jogging suit. The sun is shining, the blond man is clearly having fun and joking with his friends. The cameraman wanders off for a moment; children’s calls, birdsong and man’s laughter can be heard.
There are strange recordings of current Russian President Vladimir Putin (70) that have been leaked to the Finnish TV channel YLE by an anonymous source. The Kremlin chief in a tank top and balloon silk tracksuit? Unbelievable today.
Putin and Sobchak joke
The videos show a carefree-looking middle-aged man playing ping pong or darts with his friends or fishing at a lake. The former mayor of Saint Petersburg, Anatoly Sobchak (62), is also present. Shortly before the remarkable recordings were made, Sobchak appointed Putin as his adviser, helping him launch a political career. Also captured on camera: Putin’s current ex-wife, Lyudmila Putina (65), gutting a fish.
The British newspaper “The Guardian” published the video sequences and writes about unusual, almost surreal images that appear before the viewer. Another video shows the group having a leisurely lunch of beer and wine in a stone building. Sobchak holds court at the head of the table. You see Putin chewing vigorously. As the mayor is served a large piece of meat, Putin jokes about the market economy introduced in Russia after the collapse of communism.
Who owned the villa?
The recordings were made in a villa of the Finnish company Thomesto, which at the time imported wood from Russia. The villa was located on the island of Torsö in Raseborg, about 100 kilometers west of Helsinki, on the southern coast of Finland.
According to the anonymous source, Putin said very little at the Raseborg villa. “He was very restrictive with alcohol and did not smoke cigarettes.” He also simply asked one question: what would happen if “one and a half million Russians” crossed the border into Finland? At that time, the Russians were suffering from acute shortages of food and basic goods.
In the 1990s, Putin was a frequent visitor to Finland. His subsequent performances as Russian Prime Minister and President were carefully monitored. YLE rated the video as “a far cry from the macho, dictatorial image that Putin has since created for himself.”
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
