Daily Mail – Vladimir Putin to quit in January amid Parkinson disease
Daily Mail – Vladimir Putin to quit in January amid Parkinson disease

The Kremlin has denied Vladimir Putin is planning to quit as Russian President amid claims he is suffering from ill health and may step down as early as January. 

The 68-year-old strongman’s future has been the subject of increasing speculation after prominent critic Professor Valery Solovei suggested the leader was suffering from Parkinson’s and that his family had urged him to retire in the new year.

It comes as it emerged that Putin is making retirement plans by introducing a new bill which would make him a senator for life and guarantee him life-long immunity after office.

But on Friday morning, Kremlin spokesman and deputy chief of staff Dmitry Peskov insisted Putin was in ‘excellent health’ and dismissed the Parkinson’s claims as ‘complete nonsense’.