During the Alaska summit, where Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump met to discuss many things, but primarily the ceasefire in Ukraine, there was something that people on the internet noticed.
The walk of the Russian president. Have you ever noticed that Putin hardly moves his right hand while walking, while his left hand swings perfectly? Well, there is a reason for that. It’s not the first time people have noticed Putin’s style of walking – there have been multiple incidents where people even conspired that the Russian president suffers from Parkinson’s condition – a medical condition where a part of the body does not move. But this claim has been rejected by many medical professionals, saying that Putin never showed any other symptoms of the medical condition. So what’s the actual reason? Let’s know here.
Gunsinger’s gait’
Before becoming Russia’s president, Putin was a spy. He was a member of the Committee for State Security, abbreviated as the KGB. It was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. Putin joined the KGB in 1975. During the training in the KGB, the members were taught to always be alert and ready with a weapon. Putin received an intense weapons training at the KGB. During his time in the organisation, he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel before the Soviet Union broke up. Now, experts have said Putin’s asymmetrical arm swing is unlikely to be the result of disease, but more probably “a behavioural adaptation resulting from intense military or intelligence training.”
As per KGB, it’s a standard walk where the on-dominant hand of the member swings freely, but the other stays in place, near a pocket, so that they can take out their gun at any moment they feel a threat.
As per the KGB manual, its operatives are 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 an enemy.