He publishes insider information about Vladimir Putin and is quoted all over the world. Who is “General SVR”?
“General SVR” has recently become famous, among others, from the entry about the declaration of death by doctors of Vladimir Putin. In the past, he reported on the “involuntary defecation” of the Russian president after a fall, or on his surrender of power while undergoing surgery. Many people question the author’s credibility.
On October 23, “General SVR” announced on Telegram that Vladimir Putin had suffered a cardiac arrest the day before, but the Russian president received timely help. Putin was to be replaced by a doppelgänger at official events. A day later, the same account reported that the Russian president’s condition was so bad that he was in a room described as an “intensive care unit.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the situation.
Sensational news about Vladimir Putin’s health. There is one account behind them
The information of “General SVR” spread around the world, and not for the first time. “General SVR” claimed to have confidential information from the Kremlin, but disinformation researchers say the account is not credible. “General SVR” made false claims about Putin’s health several times. One of the questionable pieces of information was that Putin fell and had an “involuntary bowel movement.”
“Generał SVR” has been around since 2020 and has over 400,000 followers. subscribers on Telegram. It began to become popular after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The content transmitted by the account quickly finds its way into Western media due to its “expressiveness”. It is not known who runs the account. In early 2023, the English-language Business Insider suggested that former and current members of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, as well as other state bodies, were behind it.
Experts do not trust the mysterious account
“General SVR” refused to name the sources, citing security issues, but assured that he had “total confidence” in them. “They have never let us down,” he said. Russian media experts then claimed that despite the momentary embarrassment following the information provided by “General SVR”, the account was doing more harm than good.
Kontro is often referred to as “Viktor Mikhailovich”. Two names are often given in its context. One of them is the famous Russian political scientist and Kremlin critic, prof. Valery Soloviei, who is often associated with various conspiracy theories. However, “General SVR” denied any connections. Meduza, in turn, mentioned the name of Ukrainian lawyer Viktor Yermolaev, who assured that he had no contact with anyone in Russia.