'Poop Suitcase' at Alaska Summit: What’s It All About?
Putin's bodyguards carried a "poop suitcase" to Alaska summit, collecting his waste to prevent foreign intelligence from analyzing it for health information.
At the Alaska summit on 15th August between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, one unusual detail caught global attention. Putin’s bodyguards carried a special briefcase to collect and carry his stool waste back to Russia. While the main talks focused on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, this unusual security measure overshadowed the summit in headlines.
The reason behind this strange practice is security. By collecting all biological waste, Russia prevents foreign intelligence agencies from secretly analyzing Putin’s health. Experts say stool samples can reveal major details such as infections, diseases, medications, and even lifestyle habits. By leaving no traces behind, Putin’s team ensures no health information is exposed.
Reports say this practice has been followed since at least 2017, and possibly since 1999. Putin even uses portable toilets during trips. Speculation about his health has grown over the years, with some experts pointing to possible illnesses, though the Kremlin denies all such claims.
This method is not new. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin reportedly collected waste of foreign leaders like Mao Zedong in the 1940s to study their health and behavior. Western intelligence also used similar tricks during the Cold War.
The “poop suitcase” sparked a wave of memes online, with people joking that while other leaders carry nuclear codes, Putin carries yesterday’s lunch. Still, it shows the extreme lengths world leaders take to guard their secrets.
While the summit could not bring a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war, it will be remembered as much for its unusual security protocol as for its political discussions.
