Putin's power walk KGB-taught

Vladimir Putin

It may be the ultimate power walk.

Scientists have revealed how to adopt the distinctive gait taught by the KGB and executed by some of Russia's most high-profile leaders, including President Vladimir Putin.

A study found that Putin and his cadre of high-ranking officials walk in a manner consistent with Soviet security agency training.

The common trait is the right arm held close to the body with a reduced swing while leading with the left.

Experts discovered that the Russian President, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, two former Ministers of Defence, Anatoly Serdyukov and Sergei Ivanov, and Anatoly Sidorov, a highly ranked military commander, all walk in the same way. However, noting that Medvedev had never had military or intelligence training, they suggest he may actually have adopted the "gunslinger's gait" to imitate his boss.

The discovery of a KGB training manual, giving specific instruction on how operatives should move in the field in order to have rapid access to their gun, shed light on the distinctive walk.

"When moving, it is absolutely necessary to keep your weapon against the chest or in the right hand," it said.

"Moving forward should be done with one side, usually the left, turned somewhat in the direction of movement."

The experts write in the study, which is published in the BMJ: "We propose that this new gait pattern, which we term 'gunslinger's gait', may result from a behavioural adaptation, possibly triggered by KGB or other forms of weaponry training where trainees are taught to keep their right hand close to the chest while walking, allowing them to quickly draw a gun when faced with a foe."

They found other examples of a reduced arm swing related to weaponry training in the form of cowboys depicted in Wild West movies.Telegraph Group Ltd