The unusual gait of Vladimir Putin, in which he holds his right hand almost motionless, is the result of intensive training by the Russian KGB service, and not a symptom of Parkinson's disease, according to a study published today by the British Medical Journal.
This year, a team of neurologists from Portugal, Italy and the Netherlands studied the way the President and Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin and Dmitri Medvedev, as well as three other high-ranking Russian officials, walk.
"The first thing that comes to mind is Parkinson's disease" because of asymmetric hand movements, according to these neurological movement disorder experts.
As stated in the study, scientists have a completely different assumption. The attitude and behavior of Russian officials was learned in the KGB or during intensive military training.
The Russian president moves like someone trained to be able to pull a gun quickly at any moment, which is why his right hand is calmer than his left.
The authors of the study supported their thesis by looking at the "training manual for former KGB members", rejecting the suspicion that the Russian president suffers from a degenerative disease.
"We found similar examples in cowboy movies," the text states.
In addition to Parkinson's disease, Vladimir Putin's unusual gait was also thought by some to be the result of a stroke or acquired polio.
Scientists have analyzed numerous recordings of Russian officials on YouTube.
However, although asymmetric hand movements are one of the early indicators of the disease, doctors were unable to detect other symptoms, such as tremors and poor coordination.
Other videos, also from the Internet, confirm the opposite and are proof of the extraordinary dexterity of Vladimir Putin, who also has a black belt in judo.
A British medical journal traditionally publishes scientific studies on unusual topics on the occasion of Christmas.
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