Putin's 'funny walk' is not Parkinson's but a sign of his KGB killer instincts

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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s strangely stiff walk may not be Parkinson's but could be linked to his years of being trained as a KGB operative, according to researchers.

Many videos online have revealed Putin’s unusual walk that shows his right arm remain rigid by his side with his left free to swing normally.

Some health specialists felt this could have been the signs of a stroke or Parkinson’s, but a group of researchers feel this is an effect of his strict training.

Neurology professor Bastiaan Bloem of the Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands has been analysing Putin’s walk on YouTube videos and only came to a conclusion over the strange walk after finding a KGB training manual.

The KGB was the main security agency for the Soviet Union and was where Putin served for a reported 16 years.

The manual shows how the KGB operatives were both trained and instructed to keep their right hand close to their chests.

Researchers believe the instruction allowed the operative to be able to draw his gun quicker than a potential enemy in a move compared with gunslinger’s of the Wild West.

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Writing his theory in The BMJ, the British Medical Journal’s online publication, Mr Bloem and his fellow researchers said: “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, presumably allowing subjects to draw the gun as quickly as possible when confronted with a foe.”

They continued: “We propose that this new gait pattern, which we term ‘gunslinger’s gait,’ may result from a behavioural adaptation, possibly triggered by KGB or other forms of weapons training where trainees are taught to keep their right hand close to the chest while walking, allowing them to quickly draw a gun when faced with a foe.”

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Putin’s mental and physical health has been called into question in recent days after his troops invaded Ukraine.

Russian forces continue to cause death and destruction in Ukraine as they continue shelling various cities across the country.

Ukraine accused Russia of bombing a children's hospital in the besieged port of Mariupol today during an agreed ceasefire to enable civilians trapped in the city to escape.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it an "atrocity" as he wrote on Twitter: “Direct strike of Russian troops at the maternity hospital. People, children are under the wreckage.”