“It’s not the back that’s injured, it’s the vertical that’s collapsing.”

Vladimir Putin's visit to Turkey was short-lived; the president kept it to one day. During this time, he discussed with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan the situation on the Turkish-Syrian border and in the Gaza Strip, bilateral cooperation and Russian gas supplies.

Putin’s visit to Turkey is his first foreign trip since the topic of the president’s health began to be openly discussed in Russian and Western media. The Kremlin, it seems, is already tired of making excuses when answering journalists’ questions about how serious Putin’s spinal problems are. The situation was fueled by a photo published on Monday showing Erdogan helping Putin into his chair.

“As can be seen from numerous photographs, Vladimir Putin experienced severe back pain - to such an extent that Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to his aid, seating the Russian president in a chair,” writes the BBC Russian service. “The topic of back pain arose immediately after the leaders of the countries shook hands and sat down in chairs for negotiations. However, when asked directly about health, Putin only advised the Turkish prime minister to go in for sports,” reports the Turkish agency DHA.

During his visit to Istanbul, it was not only the president who had health problems. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, according to CNN Turk , broke his arm and was hospitalized at a local hospital. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied information about the fracture. “We are talking about a minor sports injury that did not affect the minister’s work schedule,” the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Photo: yandex.ru

The Russian president’s return journey from Turkey to Moscow, according to media reports , will not be direct. From Istanbul, Putin was supposed to go to the Bocharov Ruchey residence in Sochi, from there to Ashgabat, and then return to Kuban, where, according to rumors, he was to visit Krymsk, meet with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and take part in the Russian Railways forum in Sochi.

Against the backdrop of reports about the president’s illness, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes about the upcoming “drastic change in Putin’s image.” Referring to a certain report prepared for “one of the governors,” the newspaper reports that instead of the “macho” image, the image of the “wise patriarch of Russian politics” will soon be used. This image, according to Nezavisimaya, will help Putin “to continue to use his favorite tactics and allegedly be unaware of the squabbles of his subordinates.” For the first time, Putin may appear in a new image when delivering a message to the Federal Assembly. After this, according to the newspaper, a pause will be made, and then political strategists will begin to actively promote “the image of a renewed president.” According to experts interviewed by the newspaper, the Kremlin is wary of talk about the president’s incapacity.

The topic of the president's health is actively discussed by bloggers.

“With the use of modern medical technologies, even very severe pain can be easily relieved. Not forever, but for a long enough time. Sufficient so that during a visit to Turkey no one would notice that the president is in severe pain. So I state - either to the Kremlin doctors it was not possible to provide the president with adequate medical care, or the reason for the president’s ill health is not only back pain, or the information is incorrect. Choose the most likely option,” writes doctor Vladimir Budyansky.

“Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov broke his arm during a visit to Turkey. Apparently, he set his back,” journalist Vsevolod Milman sneers at mutually refuting reports from the media and the Foreign Ministry.

“Today the media started talking about the fact that Putin will change his image. Instead of a macho man, a wise old man will supposedly appear before us. Firstly, I don’t think that by the end of the series it will be possible to change the image of one of the main characters. That is, it is possible, of course, but then in a completely radical way - something from the series “give everything you have acquired to the poor and start a new life.” I’m not sure that Putin will choose this path.

But there is a much more important second thing. Putin ruled the elites through fear. “Wisdom” will not hold back the elite, especially if “wisdom” is not wisdom at all, but only a pale copy of it.

The problem with the authorities is not in Putin’s backbone, but in the rotten vertical itself, which is no longer capable of supporting this whole mass of swallowed-corrupt officials with sadistic inclinations towards opponents and indifference towards the people. It’s not the back that’s injured, but the vertical that’s collapsing. And you can’t correct this with your image,” says Oleg Kozyrev.

"Putin's back is slowly approaching the fame of the Siberian Cranes. Yesterday, two simple-minded grandfathers were animatedly talking in a trolleybus. First speaker: "This is on purpose so that the people will feel sorry for him, they distract us. This is the back - not the liver! - that means there’s nothing to be ashamed of, I’m not a drunk, that means. Eh, now buckwheat will rise in price again, or housing and communal services..." Second speaker: "What nonsense (another word was used instead of "nonsense")! He recently had a scan done (MRI, probably). Some serious illness, but not on the back..."

And how do they know everything?” asks insiders-ru .

“We wish Lavrov a recovery, and Putin is as healthy as everyone could see. And, on the other hand, the anti-Putin format seems to be getting thinner. Attempts to move on to the topic of health indicate that they (the opposition - PublicPost) have nothing more to talk about and There is nothing to say. This is confirmed by the cancellation of the rally on December 15. Let them go “for our freedom” and breathe fresh air. Look after the health of Putin,” writes Boris Yakemenko, a member of the Public Chamber, the head of the Orthodox corps of the “Nashi” movement.

The fact that Putin was canceling or postponing a number of important visits became known in early November. Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov then made a statement that there is no general reason for postponing these visits, each time is separate, and added that Putin has no health problems. Peskov explained Putin’s absence in the Kremlin by saying that the president began traveling less frequently from Novo-Ogarevo so as not to increase traffic jams.

On November 27, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko spoke about Putin’s injury: “He damaged his spine somewhere. In a fight. He fought somewhere on the mat and damaged his spine. I know his problem. He loves to fight. He fought, fought, lifted a person, threw through myself, twisted my spine." Dmitry Peskov again denied information about Putin’s poor health: “It is difficult for a person who does not experience health problems, it is difficult for him to assure someone of this. This is not necessary.”

At the end of November, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said that he was “forced to temporarily postpone his visit to Moscow due to the poor health of Russian President Vladimir Putin.” The news spread across all Russian media and made it into the top 5 Yandex news. Peskov responded to this by again stating that rumors about “Putin’s back” are “grossly exaggerated.”