AP :
Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared in public on Monday for the first time since March 5.
After an eleven-day absence without explanation, Putin was seen in St Petersburg meeting in the Constantine Palace with Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambaev. Over the course of the last week, the Kremlin released undated photo and video footage of Putin, 62, increasing conjecture about his health, whether he had perhaps lost control of the government and even about his love life.
Speaking about the health rumors, he told reporters in Russia’s second city on Monday that “It would be boring without gossip.” Images published on social media did not appear to indicate anything untoward about his appearance.
Independent Russian TV channel Dozhd reported that one possible cause of his absence may be that he had the flu and sealed himself off at his residence in the Novgorod region. Meanwhile, Kurier, an Austrian newspaper, said he is being treated in Moscow by an Austrian orthopedist for back problems. The Kremlin has not commented.
“Discussing the President’s health is the same thing as aiding the enemy,” said Alexei Makarkin, vice president of the Moscow-based Center for Political Technologies. Makarkin said such secrecy was one legacy of the former Soviet Union.
Earlier Monday, Putin deepened speculation about his precise whereabouts when he ordered a surprise inspection of parts of the nation’s military, but then did not apparently show up for the drill.
The unscheduled inspection of Russia’s Northern Fleet in Moscow that includes 38,000 military personnel and 3,360 pieces of military hardware was confirmed by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, according to the Interfax news service.
Adding fuel to the speculation on Monday, a separate planned visit by Putin to Kazakhstan was pushed back to March 20.
Moscow has said it is concerned about an increase in NATO exercises held close to the Russian border. One year ago on Sunday, Russian forces took over the Black Sea Peninsula, annexing the Ukrainian territory of Crimea.
