The SNP candidate for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine is embroiled in a row over historic pro-Putin posts on social media.
Glen Reynolds shared comments about the Russian President on X, formerly called Twitter, after the invasion of Crimea.
It has sparked a row with Scottish Tories who accused him of displaying support for the Russian regime.
The SNP says Mr Reynolds was trying to sound warnings about Western foreign policy decisions which could embolden Putin.
And they hit back at Tories for taking money from Russian oligarchs until the invasion of Ukraine.
In March 2015, one post suggested he was “somewhat cynical” about “anti-Russian and anti-Putin rhetoric”, even though Moscow had already invaded Crimea a year earlier.
In a separate post from November 2014, the account urged followers to read a speech by Mr Putin which was described as “significant and illuminating”.
The account linked Twitter users to an independent news outlet which praises the Russian leader and condemns the “corporate western mainstream ‘presstitute’ media”.
And in a third post, which dates back to October 2015, he praised Mr Putin for “waking up to the better of two evils” quicker than the United States on an unspecified issue.
‘It’s just something I wouldn’t say’
Asked about the comments, Mr Reynolds said the posts completely went against his own personal views.
He said: “If you look at my whole life history, it’s completely at odds with anything that’s been said here.”
Scottish Tories said making those posts would make him unfit for office.
North East MSP Douglas Lumsden said: “Voters in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine will rightly be appalled to hear that the SNP candidate has voiced pro-Putin views.
“Putin is a global pariah and – even before his outrageous invasion of Ukraine – the charge sheet against him was damning.
“These fawning tweets demonstrate Glen Reynolds’ appalling judgment, which makes him unfit to be an MP.
“Of course, the SNP’s opposition to new licences being granted in the North Sea would make us more reliant on tyrants like Putin for imported oil and gas with a far higher carbon footprint.”
But an SNP spokesperson said: “This is a disgrace from the Conservatives – a party who took money from Russian oligarchs rights up until the invasion of Ukraine.
“As someone who worked as a lawyer and human rights activists in conflict zones around the world, supporting human rights and empowerment, it goes without saying that Glen Reynolds condemns Vladimir Putin’s abhorrent attack on Ukraine.
“In these old posts he was expressing the view that failures in Western foreign policy, and the potential election of Donald Trump, could embolden Putin.”
Mr Reynolds is contesting the seat against defending Tory candidate Andrew Bowie, who has represented the constituency since 2017.
The SNP election hopeful, currently a Banff and District councillor, spoke to us last week about his work as a libel lawyer and a career which took him around the globe.
He previously supported Labour and stood for the party in Banff and Buchan in 2010, but later joined the SNP in 2012.
He then became an SNP councillor in 2017 and was re-elected in 2022.
Putin launched his invasion of Crimea in February 2014, seizing the territory from Ukraine.
He was widely condemned by Western leaders for his actions at the time – eight years before Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
Senior SNP figures, including then leader Nicola Sturgeon, condemned the Kremlin’s war and have been supportive of Ukraine’s fight for freedom.
Former First Minister Alex Salmond controversially launched a programme on Russia Today in 2017, which was then axed following the invasion.
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