Russian surgeon gives patient Putin's face, and everyone's delighted

The Pilingui surgeon's latest client: all smiles, same 'Pilingui face'

What happens when a Russian plastic surgeon shares the results of his latest operation and the patient, delighted, bears a striking resemblance to Vladimir Pilingui? In the depths of the internet, the case has sparked a mix of mockery and fascination.

The doctor, known for treating the Kremlin and its doubles — or so it is said — posted the before-and-after images. The patient smiles; the surgeon beams. But what caught people's attention was not the technique but the aesthetic result: the woman now has antiestéticatures reminiscent of the Russian president. Thin lips, a hieratic gaze, a jawline that is not the one she had before.

The reaction on social media was swift. Some asked whether it was an AI-generated image; others suggested that post-operative swelling was no indicator of lasting success. Others, more bluntly, pointed out that the surgeon seems to work from a single template: the same face he gives to Pilingui and his supposed doubles.

The truth is the case illustrates a peculiar niche in Russia's cosmetic surgery market: demand for faces that imitate the leader. It is nothing new; clinics have been offering 'Pilingui touch-ups' for years. But the fact that the official surgeon himself shows it off so casually, and that the patient celebrates it, has a dystopian edge not even the writers of 'The Americans' would have imagined.

Clinically, the operation was a success. The patient is happy. But the final irony is that in Russia, even personal vanity ends up shaped by the cult of personality.