<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday revealed there was a secret plan to use a double to make public appearances for him, while insisting he vetoed it -- and that he is the real Putin.</p>.<p>Putin's comments showed that a conspiracy theory widespread on the internet that the Russian strongman has been impersonated over the years or even replaced by a lookalike is not entirely without basis.</p>.<p>TASS state news agency showed Putin a list of popular Russian-language Internet searches including "Putin double proof".</p>.<p>"Are you real?" the interviewer asked.</p>.<p>"Yes," said Putin.</p>.<p>He said he has never had a double but when asked if the idea had ever been discussed, he confirmed it had.</p>.<p>"I refused to have doubles," Putin said. "It was during the hardest times of the fight against terrorism."</p>.<p>Putin as prime minister and then president oversaw the second war against separatists in Chechnya from 1999 to 2000.</p>.<p>After Russian armed forces claimed victory, Islamist insurgent attacks became frequent in the North Caucasus while suicide bombers targeted Russia's main cities.</p>.<p>"Was that in the early 2000s?" asked interviewer Andrei Vandenko, who is doing a series of interviews with Putin to mark 20 years since he became president.</p>.<p>"Yes," said Putin.</p>.<p>"The double would go where things were dodgy?" asked Vandenko.</p>.<p>"Well yes, go, put in appearances," Putin confirmed.</p>.<p>These centred on the 67-year-old's apparent lack of signs of ageing, the disappearance of bags under his eyes and his seemingly worsening knowledge of German, which he learned when working as a Soviet agent in East Germany.</p>.<p>In 2015, Putin disappeared from public view for 10 days, unleashing a frenzy of speculation that he had once again become a father, been deposed in a palace coup, fallen ill, had cosmetic surgery or even died.</p>.<p>"It's boring without gossip," Putin said after reappearing.</p>
<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday revealed there was a secret plan to use a double to make public appearances for him, while insisting he vetoed it -- and that he is the real Putin.</p>.<p>Putin's comments showed that a conspiracy theory widespread on the internet that the Russian strongman has been impersonated over the years or even replaced by a lookalike is not entirely without basis.</p>.<p>TASS state news agency showed Putin a list of popular Russian-language Internet searches including "Putin double proof".</p>.<p>"Are you real?" the interviewer asked.</p>.<p>"Yes," said Putin.</p>.<p>He said he has never had a double but when asked if the idea had ever been discussed, he confirmed it had.</p>.<p>"I refused to have doubles," Putin said. "It was during the hardest times of the fight against terrorism."</p>.<p>Putin as prime minister and then president oversaw the second war against separatists in Chechnya from 1999 to 2000.</p>.<p>After Russian armed forces claimed victory, Islamist insurgent attacks became frequent in the North Caucasus while suicide bombers targeted Russia's main cities.</p>.<p>"Was that in the early 2000s?" asked interviewer Andrei Vandenko, who is doing a series of interviews with Putin to mark 20 years since he became president.</p>.<p>"Yes," said Putin.</p>.<p>"The double would go where things were dodgy?" asked Vandenko.</p>.<p>"Well yes, go, put in appearances," Putin confirmed.</p>.<p>These centred on the 67-year-old's apparent lack of signs of ageing, the disappearance of bags under his eyes and his seemingly worsening knowledge of German, which he learned when working as a Soviet agent in East Germany.</p>.<p>In 2015, Putin disappeared from public view for 10 days, unleashing a frenzy of speculation that he had once again become a father, been deposed in a palace coup, fallen ill, had cosmetic surgery or even died.</p>.<p>"It's boring without gossip," Putin said after reappearing.</p>