There is no doubt Putin looks bloated — more so as of late. I will not indulge in conspiracy theories as I see pundits claiming he has Parkinson’s Disease, which, of course, is what people thought Hitler had. Detractors sure do love to quickly declare dictators have Parkinson’s. As for Hitler, in the final year of World War II, he was a full-blown junky, losing the war badly, and narrowly survived an assassination attempt that no doubt left him even more deeply paranoid about the people surrounding him. Any “shaking palsy,” as Hitler’s doctors described, was probably a physical manifestation of stress and an abused body by a drug addict.
All that being said, I doubt Putin has Parkinson’s. However, his puffiness does remind me of my mother, who had cancer, and her treatment caused severe bloating. Either that or Putin is a stress eater! Look! Any doctor will tell you that sudden weight loss or weight gain indicates something is wrong with one’s health. Clearly, something is wrong with Putin physically or, perhaps, mentally (i.e., stress). What does that mean for his prosecution of the war on Ukraine? Is he in a rush to accomplish life-long goals because of health reasons? Only historians will be able to answer that question.