The mysterious passenger was sitting behind Putin's driver's seat.

"A mysterious guest" appeared in Russian President Vladimir Putin's car when he visited an Orthodox monastery on the island of Valaam in northwestern Russia this week.

Images from an officially released video show the Russian leader driving a dark blue Mercedes ML into the monastery grounds and parking it.

After getting out of the driver's seat, Putin walked around to the back door of the car. As he opened the door, a red cloth suddenly appeared on the passenger seat, and a finger poked out, pointing towards the president's back.

These images immediately sparked speculation that it might be "a woman in a red dress" being driven by Putin in his car. Some even jokingly suggested it was Melisandre, the character in the red cloak from the TV series "Game of Thrones".

However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov asserted that the passenger in the back of the car was merely a security officer for Putin. The president simply wanted to "retrieve something from the back of the car," he explained.

It appeared to be a jacket, and the bodyguard sitting in the car gestured that it had been taken out of the vehicle. A few seconds later, the Russian leader met with Patriarch Kirill wearing the jacket.

According to Vietnamnet.vn