Vladimir Putin fails to publicise this important annual tradition, sparking more health fears

Vladimir Putinannually takes a dip in freezing water during the Epiphany holiday in Russia. The act is usually video recorded or publicized using photo material, supposedly to showcase the Russian President’s vitality.

However this year there is no PR content, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed yesterday Thursday 19 January, Russian state media RIA Novosti reports.

Blessed ice-holes

Peskov told reporters that Putin took the annual dip in an ice hole near Moscow but there is no publicity this time:

You know that today is the Epiphany holiday, the president took part in the baptismal bathing, he did it in the Moscow region. This time there is no video or photo material, we just report that he followed his tradition.

According to the same report, the Epiphany is a holiday celebrated by Orthodox Christians on January 19. In Russia, it is traditionally accompanied by people bathing in specially cut ice holes that are believed to be blessed.

The dip has become a tradition for Putin who has supposedly used this and similar occasions to pose half-naked and show off his vitality and masculinity.

RIA Novosti reports that the Kremlin first publicized the dip of the Russian President in an ice hole during the Epiphany holiday in 2018.

Western media often pick up Putin's dip, as seen on ABC News tweet last year.

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Speculation about frail health

Other Russian elites were apparently told not to film themselves taking part in the tradition this year, presumably so Putin didn't look bad.

While Peskov noted that Putin has not changed this tradition for several years, the fact that there is no media content has stoked speculations about the President’s health, Daily Star reports.

Putin skipping this ceremony has been called mysterious and provides additional reason to suspect his health is deteriorating, which has been reported for months now.

Sources used:

-RIANovosti: ‘Putin took a dip in an ice-hole in the Moscow region during the Epiphany’

-DailyStar: ‘Putin health fears grow as annual ice swim mysteriously 'not filmed' for first time ever’