In the video, Putin appears to run into a tourist at a Moscow hotel on Monday, May 11, but media identified the man as linked to the Russian leader.
Putin engaged in casual conversation with the man who said he was visiting Moscow from Sochi, a resort city on the Black Sea.
Putin asked: “Was it warm there?”
The man responded: “It was cold when we left, and it was cold when we arrived here too.”
The two men shook hands before Putin returned to his vehicle.
The encounter, which as portrayed as an unscripted meeting with a member of the public, was quickly dispelled by reporters. Journalists identified the man as Alexander Bazarny.
Bazarny is known to be a former employee of a company that Sochi residences belonging both to Putin and to the mother of his long-time partner Alina Kabaeva, the Telegraph reported.
Agentstvo, an independent investigative outlet, has reported that company has ties to the Russian intelligence services.
The video has positioned Putin as engaging with ordinary members of the public, but comes amid reports of increasing isolation and heightened security paranoia.
Last week, reports emerged that Putin was allegedly spending much of his time ensconced in bunkers. According to reports, he has also been subjecting his staff to constant surveillance and banned mobile phones and wristwatches among his inner circle.
Putin has a history of staging encounters with members of the public.
In November 2022, he held a televised meeting with a group of mothers of servicemen fighting in Ukraine, but the media quickly identified them as linked to state structures.
At the time, a Kremlin insider told a local news outlet that Putin “doesn’t like meeting people who are active, impulsive, out of control and who might ask uncomfortable questions,” the Telegraph reported.
