# Why is Vladimir Putin still alive?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-vladimir-putin-still-alive/1033390
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [September 26, 2026, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-vladimir-putin-still-alive/1033390 "2026-09-26T02:47:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-vladimir-putin-still-alive/1033390/21 "2026-09-26T18:21:29Z")
> [@steronz](#):
>
> To be a naysay, Trump is _also_ very difficult to assassinate, despite the existence of many groups who would like to, without him being a very intelligent person.
I vaguely recall reading a secret service member say its not that hard to kill the president, if you are willing to die in the process.
A lone gunman almost killed trump in 2024 at a campaign event. A lone gunman shot reagan.
One theory I’ve heard about Putin is that any replacement will be just as bad as him, so there isn’t much incentive to kill him because the replacement will likely continue the war as normal.
---
### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-vladimir-putin-still-alive/1033390/22 "2026-09-26T18:21:50Z")
Upon further review …
> [@QuickSilver](#):
>
> OR, we misunderstood @Chronos. Perhaps he means Putin has done away with all his body doubles to make sure none of them pop up to replace him.
OR, one of the body doubles has successfully killed Real Putin and has taken over the Supreme Leader role unnoticed.
The truth inside the Kremlin doubtless resembles a Matryoshka doll. Each time you uncover a fact, a new and different fact lurks unseen beneath.
---
### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-vladimir-putin-still-alive/1033390/23 "2026-09-26T21:00:04Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#):
>
> I vaguely recall reading a secret service member say its not that hard to kill the president, if you are willing to die in the process.
>
> A lone gunman almost killed trump in 2024 at a campaign event. A lone gunman shot reagan.
But Trump was at a public campaign event, and Reagan was in a public place. I don’t believe Putin gets anywhere near groups that haven’t been carefully selected.
---
### Author:  [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-vladimir-putin-still-alive/1033390/24 "2026-09-26T21:13:43Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#):
>
> I don’t believe Putin gets anywhere near groups that haven’t been carefully selected.
He doesn’t even get close to individual people – hence his comically large meeting tables. I was surprised to see him touching Modi at this year’s BRICS summit.
---
### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-vladimir-putin-still-alive/1033390/25 "2026-09-26T21:42:12Z")
Putin realizes other countries have access to the same toxins Russia used.
The huge conference tables are his way of keeping a wide distance from people he meets.
[Putin did approach Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner](https://www.foxnews.com/world/trump-negotiators-witkoff-kushner-arrive-moscow-us-pushes-end-russia-ukraine-war) in their recent meeting. The conference table was a bit smaller. 😉
> **[Navalny and Russia’s arsenal of exotic poisons](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53907761)**
>
> Nerve agent was apparently used on Putin critic Alexei Navalny – and Russia has a history of poisonings.
---
### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-vladimir-putin-still-alive/1033390/26 "2026-09-26T21:56:01Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#):
>
> But Trump was at a public campaign event, and Reagan was in a public place. I don’t believe Putin gets anywhere near groups that haven’t been carefully selected.
My statement was more a response to the statement that a US president is hard to assassinate. If the assassin is willing to give up their life and freedom, its not that hard.
For a dictator like Putin its much harder.
I recall reading books about Saddam Hussein and how strong his network of security was. I think his inner ring of security was about 2000 of the most elite and loyal soldiers in the military. His secondary ring was another group of 2000 or so highly elite and loyal soldiers acting on the perimeter. His third layer was the republican guard, who were the only soldiers allowed in Baghdad.
Whenever Saddam Hussein would meet with people that person would have to be examined by teams of doctors, dentists, etc to make sure they didn’t have any hidden weapons, no fake teeth with cyanide to kill themselves after killing Saddam, etc.
One military leader who was known for using chemical weapons was forced to take disinfecting baths before meeting Saddam Hussein.
Basically a guy like that is hard to kill. But a US president is easy to kill if you’re willing to die or go to jail in the process.
---
### Author:  [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-vladimir-putin-still-alive/1033390/27 "2026-09-26T22:05:21Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> OR, one of the body doubles has successfully killed Real Putin and has taken over the Supreme Leader role unnoticed.
Kagemusha Plot.
---
### Author:  [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-vladimir-putin-still-alive/1033390/28 "2026-09-26T22:05:34Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#):
>
> I recall reading books about Saddam Hussein and how strong his network of security was. I think his inner ring of security was about 2000 of the most elite and loyal soldiers in the military. His secondary ring was another group of 2000 or so highly elite and loyal soldiers acting on the perimeter. His third layer was the republican guard, who were the only soldiers allowed in Baghdad.
And yet in the end, he was caught alone in a hole in the ground, with none of that protection left. Should this fact teach Putin something? I hope so.
---
### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-vladimir-putin-still-alive/1033390/29 "2026-09-26T22:08:06Z")
That was after Saddam’s country was invaded. I don’t expect to see Americans in Moscow.
---
### Author:  [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-vladimir-putin-still-alive/1033390/30 "2026-09-26T22:10:12Z")
Oh, sure, I don’t see this either, but look what happened to other dictators who seemed untouchable. Mussolini, Ceausescu?
---
### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-vladimir-putin-still-alive/1033390/31 "2026-09-26T22:54:33Z")
A domestic revolution seems more likely though hazardous due to the nuclear arsenal.
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-vladimir-putin-still-alive/1033390.md?page=1)