Vladimir Putin Plastic Surgery Before and After Botox and Facelift

From Russia with Botox: Has Putin had a facelift... or just plenty of sleep? Mystery as bags under eyes vanish

In his days as a KGB spy, Vladimir Putin presumably knew a thing or two about the art of disguise.

And speculation mounted in Moscow yesterday that the Russian prime minister’s latest transformation is the less-than-subtle result of extensive cosmetic surgery.

The 58-year-old’s taut and wrinkle-free appearance at a party conference this week set tongues wagging that he has gone under the knife ahead of his bid to return to the top job of president next March.
Facelift? Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin sparked feverish speculation that he has had cosmetic surgery when he appeared at the United Russia congress on Saturday

Facelift? Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin sparked feverish speculation that he has had cosmetic surgery when he appeared at the United Russia congress on Saturday
Changing faces: (from left) Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin at last weekend's United Russia congress, in April this year and in 2000.

Changing faces: (from left) Mr Putin at the United Russia congress, in April this year and in 2000.

Experts claim that Mr Putin’s dramatic transformation is down to a number of procedures including a facelift, cheek-fillers, a brow-lift, removal of bags under his eyes and Botox.

How do you say Botox in Russian?

Whatever the reason – and there are many a rumor about how this transformation took place – Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, 59, is looking a lot less stressed these days, as these before and after photos show.

Notice on the right, in the photo of Putin 2.0, that his forehead is perfectly smooth, his cheeks aglow and those deep lines that once characterized his handsome (to some) face are now gone with the Baltic wind.

Britain's Guardian speculates that Botox did the trick and also suggests that he has also undergone some nip/tucks.

As quoted by the Guardian from the liberal Russian magazine New Times, four plastic surgeons analyzed Putin's new look and concluded his had Botox in the forehead, his lower eyelids lifted and his cheek bones firmed up with fillers – all in the bid to make him look more appealing as he faces an upcoming election next March.

To that end, CBS News reports on Friday that a brand new poll shows that he is slipping in his approval rating, to 51 percent, down from 61 percent last month.