LONDON, Dec. 15 (UPI) — A study has found that a number of Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin, share a similar walking style believed to be inspired by KGB weapons training.
The pattern, researched in British Medical Journal, is described as the “gunslinger’s gait” and is characterized by reduced swinging in the right arm while walking.
The study originated when movement disorder researchers, including lead researcher Bastiaan Bloem, diagnosed Putin’s lack of right arm movement as a signifier of Parkinson’s disease.
While researching this theory, Bloem and his team discovered several YouTube videos showing four other Russian officials, including Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and military commander Anatoly Sidorov, exhibiting the same walking style.
This unlikelihood that all five men had developed Parkinson’s and absence of other symptoms, led researchers to a KGB training manual that seemingly explained the distinct gait, as a section entitled movement detailed proper walking posture.
“When moving, it is absolutely necessary to keep your weapon against the chest or in the right hand,” it read. “Moving forward should be done with one side, usually the left, turned somewhat in the direction of movement.”
Putin and Medvedev’s KGB backgrounds, as well as Sidorov’s connection with the military, led researchers to conclude that the walking style was developed as a result of military training and not any kind of medical disorder.
“We propose that this new gait pattern, which we term ‘gunslinger’s gait,’ may result from behavioral adaptation possibly triggered by KGB or other forms of weapons training where trainees are taught to keep their right hand close to the chest while walking, allowing them to quickly draw a gun when faced with a foe,” the researchers wrote.
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