Ex-Putin Aide’s Sudden Illness Sparks Speculation About Anatoly Chubais’ Identity.
Unfounded rumors that he was poisoned have surfaced following the hospitalization of a man who was once among Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies.
According to his wife Avodtya Smirnova, Anatoly Chubais was admitted to a hospital on Sunday in a Western European nation with symptoms of a rare neurological disorder that caused numbness in his hands and legs.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, the 67-year-old Putin ally quit his position as a top Kremlin adviser.
Chubais left Russia in March without providing a reason, but it is widely accepted that this was because he opposed the war.
Chubais disclosed to Sobchak that he had been identified as suffering from Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare disorder in which the body attacks its nerves and, in a small number of cases, can result in life-threatening issues like blood clots or extreme breathing difficulties.
The oligarch is reportedly in intensive care, though his exact location was not made public.
Chubais is unable to walk but can talk, according to a source close to him, according to Reuters.
In pro-Kremlin media and Telegram channels, the news of Chubais’ hospitalization was met with a deluge of speculative and unsupported claims, including unfounded claims that it was caused by “complications following being diagnosed as HIV positive,” side effects of long COVID or the COVID vaccine, or alcohol poisoning.
Although none of the rumors were backed up by any proof or official statements from Chubais, his allies, or the hospital, many people observed that this deluge of theories was reminiscent of those that were circulated by Kremlin-friendly outlets in the wake of high-profile poisonings of Russian dissidents like Alexei Navalny and Sergei Skripal.
Smirnova has been contacted by Newsweek for comment regarding the condition of her husband.
The news of Chubais’ hospitalization, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, was sad, and he wished him a speedy recovery.
One of Putin’s most steadfast allies and one of the longest-serving officials in his administration, Chubais is widely regarded as one of the architects of the Russian oligarchy.
He oversaw the privatization of and has been the president’s ally since the 1990s.
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