EXCLUSIVE: 'Dead' Vladimir Putin 'Replaced With Body Doubles' — How Barmy Conspiracy Theorists Are Convinced 'Kremlin Phonies' are 'Secretly Holding Onto Power and Carrying on War With Ukraine'

Russia's ruthless dictator Vladimir Putin is dead – and a squad of surgically enhanced body doubles is now secretly running the warmongering nation on behalf of a shadowy cabal of Kremlin insiders, who are desperate to keep the truth from coming out... or at least that's what a bunch of completely sensible and not at all mentally ill conspiracy theorists believe.

RadarOnline.com can reveal that according to multiple well-placed individuals in both Russian and Western intelligence agencies, villainous Putin suffered cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at 8:42pm Moscow time on Oct. 26, 2023, at age 71 after a long bout with cancer at his presidential palace in Valdai.

Since then, conspiracy nuts say stand-ins purporting to be the seldom-seen tyrant have made increasingly rare public appearances – with power-drunk puppet masters relying on prerecorded footage or artificial intelligence-generated images for broadcast on Russian media, said Kremlin sources.

One of those who've raised concerns about actors masquerading as Putin is none other than the great-grandson of notorious Russian autocrat Joseph Stalin.

"Putin has disappeared, and instead of him, unknown and unelected persons who seized power in the Kremlin manipulate actors who do not look like Putin," declared Jacob Jugashvili, 52, whose murderous ancestor helmed the country during World War II and slaughtered more than 3 million of his countrymen.

A CIA insider added: "The rumor is that the body doubles are kept locked away, so no one ever sees two of them at once. It's sort of humorous, but it makes perfect sense and explains why (U.S. President Donald) Trump is getting frustrated.

"It's because he gets different answers depending on which Putin he's talking to."

Reports of Putin's death have been consistently denied by the Kremlin and his longtime spokesman, Dmitry Peskov.

For decades, rumors have run rampant about Putin's failing health, began not long after he ascended to power in 1999.

As far back as 2005, notable Western media outlets such as The Atlantic hypothesized the former KGB agent – who was famously stationed in Dresden, East Germany, when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 – had suffered a stroke.

A decade years later, it was widely reported that Putin may have been seriously ill from complications related to botched plastic surgery.

In 2017, famed Russian historian and noted political analyst Valery Solovei claimed that Putin was suffering from Parkinson's disease or leprosy and would imminently resign.

And five years later, on May 9, 2022, Putin appeared to have difficulty walking and sat with a blanket draped over him in Moscow during the annual Victory Day celebration to mark the Soviet Union's triumph over Nazi Germany in World War II.

Later that same year, RadarOnline.com revealed sources claimed the sickly dictator was afflicted by "cancer affecting his stomach and bowels," and had plummeted down a flight of stairs and involuntarily soiled himself.

That sensational allegation was credited to the General SVR Telegram channel, which is believed to be run by ex-KGB and Foreign Intelligence Service officers no longer loyal to Putin.

"Three bodyguards helped the president to the nearest couch and summoned medics on duty at the residence," the channel reported at the time.

Now, Western intelligence insiders say the reason for relying on body doubles rather than declaring the death of Putin – who was reelected to a fifth term as Russia's ruler in March 2024 – is obvious and precautionary.

"Russia is very much in a state of internal turmoil because of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine," said a CIA source – who added: "If the Russian public knew he was dead, the country could devolve into utter chaos and revolution."

The source admitted evidence of Putin's existence – or the efforts of those pretending he's still alive – help avoid a potentially dangerous "power vacuum" and provides "a level of stability that otherwise might degenerate into something much, much worse."