Why Vladimir Putin Walks Like a Gunslinger

For years the world has watched in fascination at the peculiar way Russian President Vladimir Putin walks — with his left arm swinging freely as his right arm remains rigidly at his side. And now we finally know why.

Neurologists believe the intensive training the muscular ruler received while he served in the KGB, the country's notorious intelligence and domestic security agency, is the culprit.

In a study published in the British Medical Journal, four brain specialists say Putin appears to have been trained to keep his "gun arm" close to his holster to be ready to draw and shoot at a moment's notice.

They refer to a KGB manual which instructs: "When moving, it is absolutely necessary to keep your weapon against the chest or in the right hand. Moving forward should be done with one side, usually the left, turned somewhat in the direction of movement."

To support the theory, doctors Rui Araújo, Joaquim Ferreira, Angelo Antonini and Bastiaan Bloem then studied footage of other KGB officers and military leaders — and they discovered the same odd walking trait, which they call the "gunslinger’s gait."

"An asymmetrically reduced arm swing was identified in several highly ranked Russian officials, including the current prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, two former ministers of defense (Anatoly Serdyukov and Sergei Ivanov), and Anatoly Sidorov, a highly ranked military commander," the doctors wrote.

The study appears to clear up long held rumors that Putin once suffered a stroke, had polio as a child or is developing Parkinson's disease.





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