Vladimir Putin met hundreds of supporters ahead of the presidential elections in March he is assured to win.
Despite attending an event where only trusted officials, business people, journalists and confidants were present, the Russian President appeared concerned about his safety.
A Telegram channel, VChK-OGPU, noted the presence at the event held on January 31 in Moscow of a bodyguard carrying a briefcase.
The item, the channel claimed was a foldable body armour, with which the bodyguard could protect Putin from a potential attack.
The Telegram post alleged: “All of [the supporters] underwent standard quarantine, loyalty checks, as well as the deepest scoring from the security service, a total search.”
Nevertheless, the Telegram channel added, the security guard part of the Federal Protection Service tasked with defending Russia’s highest-ranking officials was carrying an “armoured briefcase”.
The message continued: “When Putin spoke, the bodyguard was still in control. But as the ‘confidants’ began to stand up and ask questions, the guard approached the chief within a short jump, ready at any moment to rush in and block Vladimir Putin from the ‘confidants’ if they suddenly cease to be such.”
The security adopted by Putin, particularly following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has been under scrutiny.
The Russian President has been accused multiple times of using body doubles, an allegation the Kremlin has dismissed in the past.
Putin himself was confronted with the question of body doubles in mid-December, when he held a televised event during which he took questions from the public.
The Russian leader appeared briefly lost for words as the enquiry about him using body doubles was asked by an AI-generated version of himself.
Asked whether he has body doubles, Putin replied: “I see you may resemble me and speak with my voice. But I have thought about it and decided that only one person must be like me and speak with my voice, and that will be me. This is my first double, by the way.”
The report on the armoured briefcase comes days after thousands of protesters rallied in south-central Russia to voice their opposition to the jailing of an indigenous rights activist, Fayil Alsynov.
Russians are also showing their “disaffection” for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, soon to enter its third year, as dozens of enlistment offices have been hit by arson attacks, the UK Defence Ministry noted in late January.
