Who is Actually Putin's Conversation Partner, the 'Random Passerby'?

The video of Vladimir Putin meeting with his former school teacher Vera Gurevich has sparked extensive discussions on social media. In the footage, the President of Russia greets a seemingly random man on the street and engages in a conversation about Moscow and the weather.

However, an investigation by the ‘Agentstvo’ publication has revealed that this 'passerby' is Alexander Bazarnin, a man connected to the companies servicing Putin's elite residences in Krasnaya Polyana. According to investigators, Bazarnin has worked with structures related to the 'Gazprom Polyana' resort and firms that managed the villas where Alina Kabaeva's mother and relatives have vacationed.