Politics

Putin's New Chief of Staff Claims He Invented the 'Nooscope' to Study the Collective Consciousness

Last week Russia’s president Vladimir Putin unexpectedly removed one of his closest associates as chief-of-staff, prompting energetic speculation of purges, palace coups and long-term changes in the Russian strongman's rule. Now the man who was appointed as the replacement to the post has also been raising questions.

Questions like: What is the Nooscope?

Anton Vaino, a former diplomat and deputy chief of staff, was elevated by Putin after he abruptly removed Sergei Ivanov, one of the closest members of his inner circle, who had known the Russian leader since they trained in the K.G.B. together. Though relatively senior already, Vaino was mostly little-known and initially most reports focused on him as a self-effacing technocrat.

But since then Vaino has become the subject of more interest (and mockery) on the Russian internet for his apparent authorship of several very peculiar academic articles, including one describing the invention of a mysterious device called the "Nooscope."