Vladimir Putin wants to show that he takes seriously what is going on in Russia and Ukraine, that’s why he surrounds himself with military personnel during the traditional New Year’s address, says SVT’s Russia correspondent Bert Sundström.
So there aren’t usually soldiers standing behind the president when it’s time for New Year’s speeches?
– No, it really doesn’t. He usually stands so that you see a fancy Kremlin and waving flags.
“Chameleon Woman”
One of the military men standing behind Putin is the one who has caught the eye of social media users. A blonde woman, who has been called “a chameleon woman” – and led to suspicions that the military behind Putin are just fake, that they are actors.
– The woman who stands closest behind Putin on the left has been in official pictures of Putin from time to time. At least it seems so. On New Year’s Eve, she was a uniformed soldier. In a picture from 2016, she is depicted as part of the crew on a fishing boat. In another photo, she stands behind Putin during a church visit, says Bert Sundström.
Similar suspicions have also circulated around official Putin photos before, that people in the background reappear in several photos, but in different roles.
See the various images where the mysterious woman appears, and hear Bert Sundström’s thoughts about them, in the video above.