2023-09-25 00:02:18
Vladimir Putin in a tank top, tracksuit, with long messy hair playing table tennis and darts. The unpublished images of the Russian president are broadcast by the Finnish TV station YLE. The videos show a Putin who is, to say the least, unprecedented, very far from the character who has dominated the scene in Russia for a quarter of a century. The video dates back to the early 1990s and was filmed in Finland during a May Day celebration.
Tracksuit and long hair, young Vladimir
At that time, the current Russian president was around 40 years old and was on the launch pad in the political scene of St. Petersburg, from where he would take off to conquer Moscow. “He is the Putin before the wealth. Putin dressed badly, with a bad haircut, a Putin who does normal things like an ordinary father”, says Luke Harding, a former Guardian correspondent from Moscow interviewed by Finnish TV. The video is completely new and refers to a trip to Finland which, to date, was unknown. The images document normal ‘recreational’ activities, including parks, ping pong tables and lunches. We even see the Tsar’s ‘uncontrolled’ laughter.
Putin laughs: “He seems human”
The Russian president’s self-control, at the time, was not granite: “The most striking thing is that” in the video “he laughs. It seems human”. In ping pong games, in which Putin often touches the back of his neck with his left hand, the current Russian president plays in pairs with Anatoly Sobchak, mayor of St. Petersburg who died in 2000.
The opponents, according to the reconstruction, are two bodyguards, very skilled at losing and allowing the bosses to celebrate. The clip was filmed in a residence made available at the time by Thomesto, a group that had relations with Russia, on the island of Torso about 100 km southwest of Helsinki.
The broadcaster will not reveal the source of the video: Putin, who has built an image of a ‘man of steel’ over the years, may not like (euphemism) the diffusion of a video that shows a previously unknown side.
The TV has edited the images to improve their quality and is in possession of the original VHS tapes, with elements that allow it to define exactly the location in which the images were shot. For the record, the residence no longer belongs to Thomesto and is now a private home of a Finnish citizen.
According to anonymous sources contacted by the TV, during their stay in Finland a lot of time was also dedicated to boat fishing trips, sometimes using nets to ensure a satisfactory catch. It cannot be ruled out that the video is part of an operation carried out at the time by Helsinki intelligence, with surprising results: Putin, a KGB man, has always been careful not to show his face, like any self-respecting spy. The clip represents an exception, just as the convivial version of the current Russian president appears a rarity. At the table, among rich courses of meat and drinks, there is also room for ‘irreverent’ jokes: in Finland you eat without limits, while in St. Petersburg you have to deal with rationed supplies.
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