Vadim Pokrovsky, head of Russia's state Aids centre, blamed Mr Putin’s weak public health policy for doubling the number of HIV infections since 2010 – with at least two million more Russians likely to become infected in just the next five years.
It's a serious cause of death for Russians, young Russians
Mr Povrosky launched the rare friendly-fire attack on Mr Putin this morning, lambasting the Russian president’s “conservative approach” to tackling the problem.
The number of Russians infected with the disease has increased to 930,000 today from 500,000 in 2010.
Sex education is notoriously poor in Russia, where the Orthodox Church has grown increasingly influential under Mr Putin.
Around 90,000 people contracted the HIV virus in Russia last year
Mr Povrosky warned the “measures being taken now are ineffective” despite authorities vowing to increase spending on fighting the disease from 18 billion rubles (£228m) to 21 billion rubles (£266m).
He said the Russian health department did not have a single expert working in HIV prevention.
"This is an infection that affects people aged 25-35," Mr Pokrovsky said.
"They die when they are around 35. And they could have worked for a long time.
"It's a serious cause of death for Russians, young Russians."
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