Here are the best theories about why Putin has disappeared

Something may be afoot in Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, known for his frequent and carefully calibrated media appearances, has not been definitively spotted in public since his March 5 meeting with the Italian prime minister.

This absence, the longest in years, comes amid rumors that the political elite in Moscow is fracturing after the assassination of prominent opposition figure Boris Nemtsov within sight of the Kremlin’s walls.

Suspicions have been running high since Putin canceled a trip to Astana, Kazakhstan that was scheduled for this week, Reuters reports. A Kazakh source told Reuters that Putin had canceled the trip after becoming ill.

Any claims of illness were quickly denied by Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who told Reuters that Putin “has meetings all the time. He has meetings today, tomorrow. I don’t know which ones we will make public.”

But no images of Putin since the March 5 meeting with the Italian prime minister have been published. And images of Putin attending an International Woman’s Day event on March 8 were later proved to have been taken on March 5.

And video featuring Putin meeting with Russian supreme court chairman Vyacheslav Lebedev on March 13 wasn’t live…see more

source: businessinsider

Tags: Politics, Theories abut Putin

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