President Vladimir Putin is marking his 73rd birthday by engaging in work and holding discussions with foreign leaders, as announced by the Kremlin on Tuesday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov indicated that the president intends to convene with members of the Russian Security Council, as the conflict in Ukraine continues into its fourth year.
Since the onset of the war in 2022, Putin’s birthday celebrations have been relatively understated. Prior to the invasion, he typically commemorated his special day with international trips, hiking excursions in Siberia, or friendly hockey matches.
Peskov mentioned that while the president might have “some personal plans,” a series of international calls have been planned for the day.
As Peskov noted, birthday wishes from foreign leaders predominantly come from nations that Moscow views as “friendly.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a congratulatory telegram to Putin, referring to him as “my dearest comrade” and commending his efforts in “reliably safeguarding the nation’s dignity and core interests.”
In his message, Kim emphasized the Russian president’s contribution to “establishing a new, multipolar world.”
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko remarked that Putin’s “political sagacity, remarkable dedication to the homeland, and resolute commitment to defending national interests have earned him widespread respect at home and abroad.”
Despite increasing tensions between Moscow and Baku recently, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also offered his congratulations to Putin, although the specifics of their conversation were not made public.
Birthday wishes were also conveyed by Nicaraguan co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, who expressed their hopes for Putin’s good health and ongoing success, along with Turkmenistan’s President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, who acknowledged Putin’s contributions to nurturing friendly relations between their nations.
Meanwhile, Russian officials appear to have been instructed on how to extend birthday greetings to Putin. According to the exiled media organization Agenstvo, they were advised to post messages on their personal VKontakte accounts congratulating the president and detailing his achievements.
Putin’s 73rd birthday has reignited discussions about his health and longevity.
The last publicly known vacation that Putin took was in 2021, when he visited Siberia twice with the then-Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Peskov has stated that the president typically sleeps only a few hours per night.
Putin has consistently prioritized his health, famously imposing strict quarantine rules for anyone who met with him during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports suggest that he relies solely on his medical team and is interested in alternative medicine.
Last month, a hot-mic incident revealed a conversation between him and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in which they discussed new techniques for extending human life, with Putin stating that “human organs can be continually transplanted, possibly enabling people to rejuvenate and even achieve immortality.”
Thanks to constitutional reforms that he enacted in 2020, Putin could potentially remain in power until 2036, when he would be 83 years old.
With no indication of his willingness to step down, this scenario would position him as the longest-serving leader in Russian history, surpassing Joseph Stalin.
