The Russian opposition figure Ilya Ponomaryov expects that Russian President Vladimir Putin will die before the end of this year. “My prediction remains that he won’t see his next birthday,” he told Newsweek. On October 7, the Russian President will be 71 years old.
According to Ponomaryov, Putin’s inner circle could turn against him. Even if Putin wanted to stand trial before the International Criminal Court, his confidants would not allow it because his statements would also incriminate them. “So he will be killed,” Ponomaryov said. He assumes that the dwindling trust in Putin will end in his murder.
In 2014, Ponomaryov was the only member of the Russian State Duma to speak out against the annexation of Crimea. His mandate was withdrawn two years later. He then emigrated to Ukraine.
Again and again there is speculation about the health of the Russian President. An agent of the Russian secret service is said to have said that Putin “suffers from a severe form of rapidly progressing cancer” and probably added: “He has no more than two to three years to live.” This was reported by the British “Mirror” based on secret messages from the agent to FSB defector Boris Karpichkov. Other rumors revolve around a possible Parkinson’s disease. Some also suspect that he suffers from multiple sclerosis. The Kremlin always avoids providing information about Putin’s health.
