Russian President Vladimir Putin has potentially found his successor as he was seen very close to a mystery man during the Victory Day parade on Monday.
Videos that appeared online show that during the Victory Day parade Putin spoke multiple times to Dmitry Kovalev, head of a department in the Presidential Administration. It's very rare that Putin is seen close to any Russian official. Putin keeps a distance from the top official in the Russian administration.
Putin Spoke to Dmitry Kovalev in Low Voice
"Dmitry Kovalev is walking next to Putin, he is 36-years-old, and according to [Baza], he is in charge of one of the departments of the Presidential Administration. There are a lot of photos from hockey on Kovalev's page. It is possible that he met Putin on the common theme of love for this sport," claimed Telegram page Baza, a news-focused channel, according to Newsweek.
Putin and Kovalev are great frequenters of the hockey rinks where they met for the first time. But very little is known about Kovalev.
In 2015, Putin on his 63rd birthday, showed his love of hockey as he led a hockey team of retired stars against a team of amateurs at the Olympic ice rink in Sochi.
In the 42 seconds video clip, Putin asked something to Kovalev while walking, and afterward, the latter appeared to answer him. Both looked very calm and peaceful.
"The young man with whom Putin had a long & frank conversation on Red Square is the head of the presidential administration department, Dmitry Kovalev (unconfirmed at this time). Rumors immediately began to swirl that he could be Putin's hand-picked," wrote a Twitter user Igor Sushko, who has been prevalent in sharing revealing details about Russia.
Putin Spoke Previously About His Successor
Previously, Putin had spoken about the possibility of his replacement. "If I see a person, even if that person is critical of me, ready to sacrifice his whole life in this country, I will do everything to make sure that he receives support," said Putin in interview years back.
His successor's rumor came after it emerged that Putin is suffering from cancer and Parkinson's disease. But Kremlin has maintained that Putin does not have any illness.
