Putin Mocked for Appearance, Early-90s Track Suit in Newly Unearthed Videos

A Finnish news outlet on Sunday posted videos of Russian President Vladimir Putin from the early 1990s that show him playing ping pong, fishing and wearing a shell tracksuit, prompting some on social media to mock him.

"You don't see it, but I bet he is wearing a fanny pack too," one person joked on X (formerly Twitter).

That comment was one of several from social media users who have remarked on Putin's appearance, including his now-outdated fashion choices and his fuller head of hair, as seen in the videos posted by YLE, Finland's national public broadcasting company.

Though the videos were reportedly made roughly three decades ago, some commenters mentioned Putin's recent actions, especially his ongoing war in Ukraine. The release of the previously unshared videos come as the Russian leader's forces have struggled against Kyiv's counteroffensive, which has seen Ukraine's military make recent advances on the front lines in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia and near the long-contested settlement of Bakhmut in the Donetsk Oblast.

"Dressed in a sleeveless T-shirt, blue Adidas sweatpants and sporting unkempt hair, he looks drab and nondescript. Russian President Vladimir Putin has rarely been seen like this," YLE wrote on its website about the videos.

YLE did not provide an exact year of when they were made, saying only the footage was recorded in the "early 1990s" and that Putin would have been around 40 years old at the time.

The outlet also did not not disclose the source of the videos "because Putin's reaction to revelations about his personal life can be unpredictable." YLE said it had verified the videos through multiple sources, though Newsweek could not independently verify the authenticity of the footage.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email for comment.

Other details from YLE include that the videos were filmed on the island of Torsö in Raseborg, which sits about 60 miles away from Helsinki on Finland's south coast. Putin was said to be visiting the island around the time of Europe's May Day holiday, and he was reportedly already getting noticed in the world of Russian politics.

Also seen in the videos is Anatoly Sobchak, the former mayor of Saint Petersburg who died under mysterious circumstances in 2000, as well as Sobchak's bodyguards.

Putin partners with Sobchak in a game of table tennis against the guards and "even emits a rare laugh," according to YLE.

Multiple X users have shared YLE's clips, including the Slava Ukraini account.

"Putin in a shell suit is proof that even world leaders have their 'awkward teenage years' moments," one X user wrote of the footage.

"Seriously bad taste in oversize shell suit jackets in strange colors! Maybe he's color blind? Maybe he has no taste? Maybe he has no judgment," another comment read.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's minister of internal affairs, had a more scathing take on the footage.

"Have you seen these photos yet? 'The future great geostrategist, sex symbol and dream of all Russian women.' And also the future murderer, international terrorist and maniac," he posted on X, adding Putin's former colleagues in the KGB used to call him "Moth" and "Little Rat."