If you’ve ever watched Russian President Vladimir Putin stroll across a stage or down a corridor, you might have noticed something… unusual. While his left arm swings freely at his side, his right arm remains unnaturally stiff and close to his body.
At first glance, it might look like a quirk – or perhaps even a sign of an old injury. But according to researchers, there may be a far more calculated explanation behind Putin’s peculiar gait – and it traces back to his KGB roots.
Putin, 72, a former intelligence officer with a long career in Russia’s security services, is known for maintaining a tightly controlled image. And as it turns out, his unusual walk might be part of that strategy.
In a 2015 article published in the British Medical Journal, Professor Bastiaan Bloem, a neurologist at Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands, and his colleagues analyzed footage of Putin and noticed a consistent pattern: a significantly reduced right arm swing.
Curious about the cause, they dug deeper – and discovered something interesting in a KGB training manual.
“According to this manual, KGB operatives were instructed to keep their weapon in their right hand close to their chest and to move forward with one side, usually the left,” the researchers wrote.
“This would presumably allow them to draw a gun as quickly as possible when confronted with a foe.”
They dubbed the phenomenon “gunslinger’s gait” – a purposeful behavioral adaptation, they believe, developed through years of weapons training.
Putin isn’t the only one exhibiting the trait. The researchers also observed the same rigid right arm movement in other prominent Russian figures with ties to military or intelligence services, including former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, ex-Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, senior official Sergei Ivanov, and General Anatoly Sidorov.
In other words, it might not be a glitch – it’s a feature.
While it’s unlikely Putin fears imminent danger as he makes public appearances, his guarded posture may reflect a deeply ingrained habit from his days in the KGB. As the researchers put it, this controlled style of movement might be less about style – and more about survival.
So next time you see Putin’s right arm staying close while his left swings freely, it may not be an accident. It might just be the mark of a man trained to be ready for anything.
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