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Russian TV bosses PULL video of school kids spelling birthday wishes to Vladimir Putin because they feared 70-year-old president would look old
- The Russian leader turned 70 on Friday, but the celebrations were rather muted
- Video of hundreds of children wishing Putin happy birthday has been deleted
- It comes after rumors of Putin’s ill health and Kremlin fears over his image
- A source said the Kremlin is trying not to publicize that he has reached retirement age.
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Russian TV bosses have released a video in which hundreds of schoolchildren give birthday wishes to Vladimir Putin for fear that the leader will look old.
Putin turned 70 on Friday, but Russian officials were told not to celebrate or hold parties for the leader to avoid publicity about reaching the milestone.
It comes amid a wealth of speculation about the health of the leaders since he invaded Ukraine on February 24 this year.
The video, uploaded by St Petersburg TV, showed several hundred children spelling out the message ‘Putin is our president’ in honor of his birthday.
But it was removed after just a few hours, with insider sources saying they had not been given instructions on how to celebrate his birthday, as in previous years. The Telegraph reports.
A source told Russian media outlet Meduza: “Why draw attention to the fact that our president has long since reached retirement age?”
Hundreds of children pinned a message to Putin in St Petersburg’s iconic central square
Vladimir Putin turned 70 on Friday, seven months after invading Ukraine
State-controlled media on Friday published celebratory content of Putin’s 22 years in power, but rarely mentioned how strong he is.
Rumors of the president’s health at age 70 have been circulating since February.
In July, the Russian president was pictured clumsily slapping mosquitoes off his face.
Similarly, during a massive Victory Day parade in Moscow in May, the 69-year-old appeared to limp and have a blanket over his lap, while in April he was seen grabbing a table during a televised meeting with his minister of Defence. .
Komsomolskaya Pravda, Russia’s best-selling tabloid, compared Putin to Catherine the Great for annexing parts of southern Ukraine and preventing the country from ‘falling apart’.
“No state in the 21st century has gotten bigger,” it said.
The comments come after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and Putin’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions last week.
Despite the annexation of regions like Donetsk and Luhansk, Ukrainian forces have made huge gains in regions that Russia said would “remain Russian forever” in chilling words for the nation.
It was reported that Russia introduced school holidays early this week and plans to “evacuate” Ukrainian schoolchildren to areas that are still firmly under Russian control.
It is unclear how they plan to do this and whether the children or their families will be given a choice.
On his birthday yesterday, The Telegraph reports that Putin has received a birthday gift certificate for a Belarus-made tractor from Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian dictator.
The Belarusian government has strongly supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Tajikistan’s president offered an exhibit of Central Asian melons and watermelons piled up on the grounds of the palace where Putin met leaders of former Soviet states.