Even the Shadow Warrior Theory has been floated… Experts point out “Putin’s Significant Change”.

He looked like a completely different person than he did three years ago. He is stubborn and isolated.”-French President Macron

The instability is growing exponentially. I can’t help but think of him as a completely different person than he used to be” (Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia).

Russian President Vladimir Putin, 69, orders a sudden invasion of Ukraine and suggests the use of nuclear weapons. Many have pointed out that he is mentally unbalanced due to his outbursts. His face is swollen, his gaze is unsteady, and his fingers move restlessly on the table. He has changed so drastically from the calm and collected man he used to be that rumors are even floating around that the current Putin may be a shadow of his former self.

One source of evidence is the testimony of Mrs. Lyudmila, who divorced Mr. Putin in June 2001, in an interview given to the German newspaper Welt. In the same paper, Lyudmila said the following.

One day, out of the blue, my two daughters and I were taken away by strange men who blindfolded us. My husband (Mr. Putin) also disappeared. When they returned to our home a short time later, government officials were there and the house was ransacked. The officials said Don’t tell anyone about this. A few days later, her husband returned, but although he looked the same on the outside, his personality and the way he spoke were completely different. He is a completely different person. I had a hunch. My husband was erased by the state.

In February 2008, in response to media reports that his appearance may have changed, a reporter from Russia’s state-run TASS news agency asked him, “Are you real?

I hope you are real. （There was certainly discussion about using [shadow warriors]. It was a time when the war on terror was at its most intense (after the attacks in 2001). I refused to use Kagemusha.

Wiggling her toes furiously: ……

Although the authenticity of the statements made by the former Mrs. Putin and himself is unknown, it is probably true that Mr. Putin’s recent words and actions regarding Ukraine have been condemned by the international community and have not gained support. It is not surprising that his behavior is difficult to understand for the leader of a major power, and it is not surprising that people feel that he is not the same person as before.

Itsuro Nakamura, a professor at Tsukuba University and an expert on the situation in Russia, explains.

Like other high-ranking officials in other countries, I get the impression that Vladimir Putin is a completely different person today than he used to be. His face has become stiff and expressionless. The most symbolic example of this was when he met with Belarusian President Lukashenko in February of this year. Mr. Putin’s hands were around in a circle and he was clutching the armrests of his chair tightly. He was wiggling his toes vigorously and was clearly restless.

His behavior was also unnatural during an online discussion with regional bureaucrats in March. His back was straight and his body was swaying widely from side to side. Compared to his previous public appearances in which he had appeared in an imposing manner, this only left me feeling uncomfortable. Mr. Putin is said to have been suffering from an illness that has prevented him from controlling his own behavior for about six years. The disease has worsened and may have affected him to the point of changing his personality.

It’s very possible that he’s no longer able to make normal decisions with a sense of physical and mental balance. There is a fear that the hatred of the West that is trying to drive Russia into a corner may be unstoppable and out of control, and there is no one in Russia who can stop the actions of Mr. Putin, who has been at the head of the regime for 20 years. The situation in Ukraine is in danger of taking a turn for the worse.”

President Putin continues to run amok, becoming increasingly isolated at home and abroad. What kind of future does the “naked dictator” envision in his mind?