Putin Struggling to Pronounce Ally Leader's Name Raises Eyebrows

Russian President Vladimir Putin is being mocked online for flubbing the name of the president of Kazakhstan during a formal meeting with the ally.

Putin was in Kostanay, Kazakhstan, on Thursday to meet with his counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as part of the 19th Russia-Kazakhstan Interregional Cooperation Forum. Despite the war in Ukraine, Kazakhstan has remained one of Russia's most trusted bilateral allies on the international stage.

The leaders, along with government officials, academics and businesspeople from more than 30 regions, reportedly discussed agriculture and its benefits toward a strong economy.

But videos posted on social media have centered on Putin, who has been a focus of controversy regarding his purported health issues, and his mispronunciation of Tokayev's name.

Putin, surrounded by delegates at a large table and broadcast on Russian television, can be seen stuttering during introductory remarks.

"Putin had a hard time pronouncing the name of the President of Kazakhstan," wrote Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to Ukraine's minister of internal affairs, on X, formerly Twitter. "This is not the first time he misspoke the name of a country's leader.

"Lack of respect or his new cheeks influencing Putin's enunciation?"

The comment regarding Putin's cheeks is related to questions about his facial features prompted by a video posted online Wednesday.

Online commenters and internet sleuths have weighed in on the video, likely recorded a day or more before Putin's landing at the airport in Astana, seeming to show puffed-up cheeks from fillers or otherwise.

That four-second video was viewed roughly 1 million times and contains a Kremlin watermark in the top right-hand corner, though the official date of the recording is unknown. Footage is from Putin's meeting with Zhang Youxia, deputy chairman of the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China, in Novo-Ogaryovo, outside of Moscow.

"By the look of the small bruise above cheek, this is fresh filler," one X user responded to Gerashchenko. "I wonder what he really looks like without all the cosmetic enhancements?"

Putin has also been accused by some of having body doubles in public for at least since he decided to invade Ukraine last year.

The claims have been exacerbated as of late following a study conducted by Japanese researchers who concluded that based on body movements, facial recognition and voice comparison, at least two body doubles have been used for the longtime Russian leader.

Such claims have been laughed off by the Kremlin and its spokesman, Dmitry Peskov.

"This belongs to the category of absurd information hoaxes that a whole series of media discuss with enviable tenacity," Peskov said in late October, according to multiple sources. "This evokes nothing but a smile."

On Thursday, according to a Kremlin readout, Putin lauded his relationship with Tokayev and over $100 million worth of commercial contracts with the ally nation. Russia's trade with Kazakhstan has reportedly increased by over 10 percent compared with 2022, hitting between $27 and $28 billion.

Newsweek reached out to the Kremlin via email for comment.