When Putin met Reagan?

Posted By Joshua Keating Monday, March 16, 2009 - 10:38 AM Share

Radio Free Europe's Brian Whitmore shares this photo, which many are claiming depicts an encounter between now Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (the blonde man on the left with the cameras) and U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Moscow's Red Square. In case you're wondering why the then-KGB Colonel would be dressed like a dorky tourist, the official White House photographer recalls the encounter to NPR:

Souza recounts a story from a trip to Russia with Reagan. He shot photos of Reagan as the president toured Moscow's Red Square with then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev introduced Reagan to various tourists, who asked the American president pointed questions about subjects such as human rights in the United States. Souza says he remembers turning to one of the Secret Service agents standing nearby. "I can't believe these tourists in the Soviet Union are asking these pointed questions." The agent replied, "Oh, these are all KGB families."

Update: Because this post is getting a lot of attention, I feel I should clarify that I didn't mean to imply that the man in the photo definitely is Putin. I thought that phrasing the title as a question as well as the phrase "many are claiming" would make it clear that I was just sharing some interesting Internet speculation, but I should probably have been more explicit. Sorry if anyone was confused. 

EXPLORE:HISTORY, PHOTOGRAPHS, RUSSIA
 

RUFUSJSQUIRREL

1:58 AM ET

March 17, 2009

No Way

How can anyone think that's Putin?

 

CINDYLU

11:18 AM ET

March 17, 2009

Sure it is

It looks just like him. Google him and there are some pictures of Putin where is hair is still almost that color and he more closely resembles this picture than he does now.

 

PDUB

12:23 PM ET

March 17, 2009

It ain't him

Putin was an agent in Dresden, East Germany from 1985 to 1990 (probably trying to undermine the nascent movement there that led up to die Wende) and was recalled to the USSR after reunification. I doubt that the KGB brought him back to Red Square for a photo op with Reagan. Plus, don't you think this is the kind of thing he would at least mention in his autobiography?

 

CINDYLU

12:26 PM ET

March 17, 2009

retraction

Actually, I don't think it is him. I saw a picture of him taken in 1988 and he was already a lot more bald than this.

 

GREMPE

11:42 PM ET

March 18, 2009

Bogus. Just look at historical photos

Foreign Policy. You can do better than to post this article with a photo that is clearly not Putin.

All you had to do was google for photos of him in that era to see that this is not him.

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Parliament/5160/Putin/family.html

Note the photos in 1988 and 1989. He has a lot less hair in known historical photos, and in a different style than this person (note the sharp lines on the hairstyle of the reagan photo, thick hair above the forehead, and sharp sideburns).

And just because the photographer claims to have second hand knowledge from the Secret Service that there were 'KGB families' present does not provide any sort of proof that one of those agents was in fact Putin.

Nice try but not so much...

PS - The process to sign up on your website just to leave a simple comment is painful. Get with the times.

 

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