Vladimir Putin has Asperger’s syndrome, Pentagon says

A 2008 report from a secretive think tank section of the Pentagon claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin has Asperger’s syndrome, an “autistic disorder which affects all his decisions,” the report said.

The Office of Net Assessment conducted the research, which was obtained by CBS News. The report states, in part: “Putin’s neurological development was significantly interrupted in infancy.”

The report is based on videos of Mr. Putin’s public actions, starting in 2000, and hypothesizes that his mother suffered a stroke during pregnancy that caused an “insult” to his brain, CBS News said.

Report authors didn’t say they used scans of Mr. Putin’s brain to come up with the assessment. But they did say that Mr. Putin’s “primary form of compensation for his disorder is extreme control and this is reflected in his decision style and how he governs,” CBS News said.