The Kremlin has been accused of concocting the narrative of President Vladimir Putin's death as a ploy to assess his domestic popularity and tighten his authoritarian grip, Ukrainian intelligence sources claim. A recent surge in rumors claiming Putin's death was not only premature but part of a calculated strategy by Russian officials to scrutinize the reaction of the Russian populace and elites to such a high-stakes scenario.
Andrii Yusov, a spokesman for the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, suggested that the Kremlin's seemingly bizarre dissemination of Putin's death gossip was a ruse with dual purpose: gauging public sentiment and fine-tuning the machinery of influence that bolsters Putin's regime. "The empire, which is built on the work of the secret services, learns how to continue to rule," Yusov said, casting a light on the calculated operations of Russia's ruling echelons.
The rumor mill churned into overdrive following a post by the Russian gossip channel General SVR on Telegram, which posited that Putin had succumbed to cardiac arrest. The channel, claiming insider Kremlin information, also alluded to a subsequent power struggle and an attempt to orchestrate a body double scheme - a claim reminiscent of plots from Cold War-era spy tales.
The spread of misinformation peaked, with online searches in Russia for phrases related to Putin's supposed demise skyrocketing. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov eventually labeled the rumors as sheer hoax, and Putin himself has since appeared in public, debunking the gossip of his fall.
Yet, this has not stopped the General SVR from continuing to narrate a saga of Putin's alleged health crises, without substantiation, fueling a narrative that has forced the Kremlin to engage in rare public denials.
Amid this stage-managed chaos, Yusov's revelations on the Ukrainska Pravda talk show provided a chilling warning. Russian authorities, he indicated, meticulously documented the public's online responses, suggesting repressive measures might be forthcoming for those who reacted positively to the false news.
Further raising eyebrows, Oleksii Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, indicated that the rumors could be linked to Putin's campaign strategy for the 2024 presidential election. However, he soberly added that Putin's hypothetical departure from power wouldn't necessarily herald change, reflecting on the deeper-rooted issues within Russian society.
Simultaneously, on the day that marked the funeral of Hollywood's cherished 'Friends' star Matthew Perry, a new foundation was unveiled. The Matthew Perry Foundation, aimed at aiding those grappling with addiction, punctuated the actor's enduring wish, as stated on the foundation's website, "When I die, I don't want 'Friends' to be the first thing that's mentioned - I want helping others to be the first thing that's mentioned."
With the world's attention intermittently shifting between the departed star and the elusive Russian leader, the confluence of a fabricated death and an actual one reveals the strange times we live in - where truth is stranger than fiction, and the legacies of individuals, be they a cherished actor or a controversial president, are scrutinized and immortalized in the digital age.
