It comes amid speculation about the health of the Russian leader in recent days, although the Kremlin has categorically denied that Putin is ill. Valerie Slovei – a well-known Putin critic – claims that the head of state has cancer.
This is after Mr. Solovy’s previous claim that Mr. Putin may have Parkinson’s disease, as first published by The Sun.
Now, Putin critics and political analysts are making more claims about the Russian leader’s health.
Mr Solovy referred to sources inside the Kremlin with whom he had alleged contact.
He told the Sun on Friday that Putin, 68, had two health conditions, one of which was “psychological in nature and the other is cancer.”
He said: “If anyone is interested in a proper diagnosis, I am not a doctor, and I have no moral authority to disclose these problems.”
Slovei, a former head of the PR department at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, also claimed that Putin had undergone surgery in February this year.
Read: Trump warns Putin after US election campaign – ‘playing into Russia’s hands’
Mr Solovy, meanwhile, suggested that several other prominent Russian figures were running for president.
They include Putin’s 34-year-old daughter, Katerina Tikhonova, who currently heads an AI program.
Others are Dmitry Medvedev, who resigned as prime minister earlier this year, and Dmitry Petrushev, the country’s agriculture minister and CEO of Russia’s Agricultural Bank.
Earlier this month, Kremlin spokesman Peskov denied that Putin had planned to step down in the near future.
This week, Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, backed a bill that would exempt Putin and his family from criminal prosecution even if he were to step down as president.
The bill is part of a series of amendments to Russia’s constitution that were agreed in July this year.
Other changes include Putin taking over the presidency for two more terms.
His current term is set to end in 2024, meaning he will be in power for about 24 years.
Alexei Navalny, Putin’s most famous critic and leader of the opposition, tweeted: “Why does Putin need the Immunity Law now?”
Mr Navalny was recovering from a nerve agent poisoning earlier this year while on a flight to Siberia.
German medical investigators concluded that the chemical agent Novichok was used. The Kremlin has been widely accused but has denied any involvement.
