A man who has known Vladimir Putin for 30 years and taught him body language believes his bizarre behaviour in Ukraine demonstrates how much his mind has degraded in only a few months.

Allan Pease, a world-renowned body language specialist and popular author from Australia, first encountered Putin, then 39, in his native city of St Petersburg in 1991, barely a year after the Soviet Union collapsed.

Allan and his wife Barbara, who is also in the communications sector, travelled to the former USSR to fill a market vacuum by teaching politicians in ex-communist nations on how to be more ‘Western’ leaders.

Anatoly Sobchak, the freshly elected mayor of St Petersburg, has recently recruited former KGB operative Putin as his deputy.

As Allan, also known as ‘Mr Body Language’ for many years, told The Sun Online, the circumstances surrounding his encounter with Russia’s future president were incredibly fortunate.

“We scheduled three meetings with President Boris Yeltsin, but he never showed up.”

1. STEEPLE POSE

Allan showed Putin the steeple position’ with his hands, which was one of the skills he learned. Photographer: AFP

Politicians in the Soviet Union were known for their forceful speaking style and unusual diplomacy.

At the UN General Assembly in 1960, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev famously pulled off his shoe and smashed it on the desk to make a point in his rage in reaction to a fellow delegate’s remarks.

Allan taught Putin one of the most important “power postures,” the “steeple stance.”

He elaborated: “You lean back and clasp your hands like a church steeple. Grin but don’t reveal your teeth.

“Body language is just the outward manifestation of one’s emotional state. It’s all a matter of cause and effect.

“This position gives the impression that you are self-assured and in command of your emotions. Even if you are scared, adopting this position has an impact.

“If you assume this attitude on purpose during a meeting or interview, you will begin to feel more confident.

“View Putin videos from before the Ukraine conflict. He takes this stance. He’s not going to cross his arms.”

2. SEMI-MARCH

Among the skills Allan taught Putin was how to walk in a “semi-march” with his arms at his sides.

“People with power walk like they’re semi-marching,” he said.

This more statesmanlike walking style, with both arms swinging by the sides, was developed by US President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, according to Allan.

During a visit to Downing Street not long after he became president, Putin and Blair attempted to “out-swagger” each other in a snapshot from 2000.

He also attempted to teach him how to walk in a’semi-marching’ motion and how to grin. Appreciation: Ap

SMILE & EMOTE

One of Allan’s most difficult difficulties was educating the ex-Soviets how to discard their “Russian face.”

“Men weren’t allowed to grin in the Soviet military services because you wouldn’t be taken seriously,” he explained.

“I reminded them that if you want to conduct business with people who aren’t Russians, you have to smile.”

Although Putin isn’t known for his pleasant smile, images from his early administration show him smiling with then-Prime Minister Tony Blair.

He also displayed uncommon emotion immediately after gaining power in 2000, when he attended the burial of his longtime mentor Anatoly Sobchak.

As he embraced Sobchak’s widow, the Russian leader was deeply saddened.

According to the BBC’s Gabriel Gatehouse, Sobchak “plucked a middle-ranking KGB officer by the name of Vladimir Putin from obscurity and handed him his first post in politics.”

COOL & CALM

By the conclusion of his presidency, Putin’s predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, was universally seen as a farce.

“When we arrived, we wanted to meet Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s new president,” he explained.

“We felt he needed a lot of work on his presenting approach since he came off as a jerk.

“He was always dancing, and he was rarely sober. That was not what the Russian people desired.

“Our plan was to educate Yeltsin how to portray himself on TV and come across as a more credible leader.”

Putin, in contrast to Yeltsin, has always attempted to portray himself as a calm figure.

Allan portrays Putin’s rule as “an iron fist in a velvet glove” for most of the past 22 years.

“Historically, Putin has made few serious political missteps,” he remarked.

“Putin presumably assumed President Zelensky would escape Ukraine after the invasion and the Russians would be welcomed with open arms,” he continued, referring to the Ukrainian conflict.

“He expected to be able to reclaim the Donbas, Luhansk, and Donetsk, as well as consolidate his grip on Crimea and see Ukraine demilitarised.”

TOUGH-GUY IMAGE

When Allan first visited the former Soviet Union, he saw that Russian expectations of their leaders differed greatly from those of many Westerners.

Defining Putin’s “”Russian people want the president to be GI Joe,” Allan remarked of his “tough man” reputation. He is a nationalist.

“They want to watch him fly a plane and compete in martial arts.

“He’s done that duty really effectively for many years.”

While Yeltsin was derided at home as a violent alcoholic, Putin has cultivated a clean-living image as a man of action.

He holds a black belt in judo, plays ice hockey, and appears shirtless on a horse during hunting or fishing trips.