From Kim Jong-un to Vladimir Putin, passing through Alexander Lukashenko, we are used to always seeing their faces up close, the protagonists of photos, videos and news relaunched by the media of the countries they rule. However, as soon asdespot As he works, he disappears from the spotlight, for various reasons – sometimes unrelated to geopolitical events – so analysts wonder what’s going on. Is the “missing” head of state seriously ill? dead? Is he in danger of being turned against in an uprising? Questions and hypotheses follow one another until the leader of the moment emerges.
Secret leaders
Gasyellow, default Health problemsOr, worse, palace plots to counter. Most of the time it’s about sounds, about unconfirmed rumors launched against international public opinion in an attempt to tarnish the image of presidents who lead countries that are not democratic, or at least not democratic in the Western sense of the term. These allusions rarely contain a shred of truth, which is impossible to investigate objectively given the nature of the actors involved. This is it: autocrats and leaders who have no intention of justifying their moves, let alone foreign journalists hungry for improbable scoops.
However, their conditions, both political and health, represent a major issue that foreign governments cannot ignore. Contrary to rumors, finding out if the President of the Russian Federation or North Korea is seriously ill or, on the contrary, risks being overthrown from office after any internal riots,Strategic information Basic. Information that is often reduced to just an exclusive tabloid, but in fact allows various intelligence agencies to control the situation in the face of adverse events. Of course, there are those—experts, think tanks, and analysts—who are spouting unverified or verifiable insinuations against autocrats in order to tarnish their reputation in the eyes of international public opinion. In any case, there are several “mysteries” worth mentioning.
Lukashenko is yellow
Chronologically, in yellow according to terms Alexander Lukashenko This is the latest ever. On May 9, Putin invited the President of Belarus to Moscow on Victory Day.
A loyal ally of the Kremlin laid wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and attended the scheduled military parade. But according to some rumors, he, along with other guests, would not have attended the lunch given by the Russian president, but would have returned to Minsk early for unspecified health reasons. Unofficial sources indicated that Lukashenko was not in good shape even during the parade, and that he would arrive at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on a vending machine.
In the following weeks, rumors about the health of the Belarusian leader increased, because in the meantime the 68-year-old had disappeared from the radar screens. On May 15, he reappeared in public after an absence of nearly a week, and after being absent from Flag Day ceremonies for the first time since assuming the highest office in the former Soviet republic 29 years ago. Its appearance is flashy arm band, did not allay the suspicions of those who believed that he was seriously ill or even poisoned by the Kremlin. Rumors were dispelled by the person concerned, who on May 23 claimed to have had a glandular.
A few days later, Lukashenko’s opponent, Valery Tsepkalo, a former candidate for the presidency of Belarus, raised doubts about the president’s health and potential. Poisoning. As for Tsepkalo, Lukashenko will be in critical condition, and he will be hospitalized. The fact that the source is MaverickAbove all, in his letter, he made an appeal to Western governments, to prompt analysts to pay close attention to the validity of his statements.
“How is Putin?”
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the health of the Russian president, Russian President Vladimir Putin, is the subject of all kinds of speculation. The newspapers tried in every possible way to give a simple explanation (an imaginary disease that was going to hit the Kremlin’s head) for a complex event (the Ukrainian conflict).
There was talk of dementia, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, mental disorders and tantrums caused by various treatments. There were even those who assumed that Putin was in critical condition, in terminal condition or even could no longer, obviously. There were those who became suspicious of some video messages or video conferences circulating during the first year of the war in Ukraine, and assumed that the Russian leader was locked in a bunker and replaced with a double bed. Theories have, in some cases, taken the form of genuine conspiracy theories.
Appearances of Kim (dis)
Another disappearance, another media issue. In May 2020, Kim Jong Un He reappeared publicly after three weeks of silence. In the recent past, leader north korea He disappeared from the scene for other periods of virtual emptiness (for example, six weeks off in 2014). However, the president’s absence from the annual celebrations of April 15, one of the most important holidays in the country and the birthday of his grandfather Kim Il-sung who died in 1994, was unprecedented.
From April 11 to May 1, no one heard anything about Kim, who suddenly disappeared from the public eye. State media, which was full of news and pictures of him, stopped mentioning him. Thus began the speculation regarding his health conditions: He’s dead, he’s seriously ill, he’s in a vegetative state. And again: he ran away for fear of catching Covid-19, he’s fine, he’s alive. The ban on the situation was lifted only on May 1 when, coinciding with May Day, Kim attended the opening of the Sunchon Fertilizer Factory.
During the event, Kim was joined by several assistants, one of whom appeared to be wearing skimpy clothes sticky white. Other details: In a photo behind Kim, you can see a file canAny small vehicle used to transport people. We don’t know if the car’s presence was related to a matter of convenience, to help Kim speed up travel from one part of the site to another, or for health reasons. In any case, even in October 2014, on the occasion of his first appearance after an intervention, the leader was photographed with a can. A year later, in August 2021, Kim appears on television in a bizarre style stain On the back of the head, in some films covered with a bandage, and more slender than in the past. To this day, Kim continues to lead North Korea, albeit in the midst of some mysterious disappearances and reappearances.
Shi’s absences
In 2012, when he was Vice President of China, he was about to finish the climb that would lead him to becoming the country’s president, Xi Jinping He disappeared from the scene of the accident for no apparent reason. Thus Xi, who had been appointed successor to then-leader Hu Jintao, ended up in the midst of thousands of speculations. Hypotheses explaining his mysterious absence ranged from minor physical problems—such as a common cold or backache—to catastrophic ones, such as arrests, serious illnesses, and murders.
In these empty days, Xi missed, among other things, an official appointment with the then US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who was visiting China, while searches for her name were blocked in all social networks in the country. Two weeks later he reappeared at a public event. Recently, another “case” broke out, when Xi Jinping disappeared from public view after returning to Beijing from a summit Shanghai Cooperation Organization Samarkand, in Uzbekistan, in mid-September where he also met Putin. The Chinese leader will appear again at the end of September. Again, speculations about coups and fatal diseases have not been proven correct.
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