Neurologists think they have figured out Vladimir Putin’s unusual walk

A GROUP of scientists claim they have worked out why Vladimir Putin has such an unusual walking style — and why other Russian politicians carry themselves in exactly the same way.

HAVE you ever taken notice of Vladimir Putin’s unusual walk?

His right arm remains stiff while his left arm swings freely.

The Russian President’s strut has long been the subject of conjecture.

Rumours have ranged from an in-utero stroke to a childhood bout of polio.

A reduced arm swing can even be a sign of an early onset of Parkinson’s disease.

But now a group of Dutch neurologists think they finally have the true answer.

In a wheat field ... his right arm is stiff.

At the Zavidovo residence ... Putin’s right arm shows no sign of swinging.

The group attribute Putin’s abnormal walking pattern to the training he received while he was in the KGB, the Soviet Union’s national security agency.

The neurologists analysed YouTube footage of Putin and a training manual of the former KGB to reach their conclusion.

According to this manual, KGB operatives were instructed to keep their weapon in their right hand close to their chest and to move forward with one side, usually the left, presumably allowing subjects to draw the gun as quickly as possible when confronted with a foe.

Along the Khemchik River ... And there is that stiff right arm again.

The second chapter of the manual gives the following instruction: “When moving, it is absolutely necessary to keep your weapon against the chest or in the right hand. Moving forward should be done with one side, usually the left, turned somewhat in the direction of movement.”

The neurogologists found a similar walking pattern in Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and three other highly ranked Russian officials, with all walking with a consistently reduced right arm swing.

Inside the Kremlin ... Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, accompanied by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, left, and chief of staff Sergei Ivanov, after delivering his annual state of the nation address this month.

Their conclusions were published in the British Medical Journal this week.

“We propose that this new gait pattern, which we term “gunslinger’s gait,” may result from a behavioural adaptation, possibly triggered by KGB or other forms of weapons training where trainees are taught to keep their right hand close to the chest while walking, allowing them to quickly draw a gun when faced with a foe. This should be included in the differential diagnosis of a unilaterally reduced arm swing.”