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Putin surfaces after mysterious 10-day absence Putin surfaces after mysterious 10-day absence
(about 1 hour later)
Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first public appearance in more than 10 days on Monday, following intense speculation about his health or other reasons he was out of view. MOSCOW — Russia’s leader is back.
“It would be boring without gossip,” Putin told reporters outside St. Petersburg in his first public event since March 5. More than 10 days after President Vladimir Putin dropped from public sight without an explanation, he reappeared on Monday relaxed, smiling and joking — although perhaps with a touch of the sniffles.
But he offered no other immediate details on why he missed a series of meetings and postponed one state visit during the period. His long absence from public view spurred furious speculation in Russia that he had suffered serious health issues or that there had been a serious bout of Kremlin infighting. There were other rumors that a girlfriend had secretly delivered a baby. Some longtime Kremlinologists even posited there had been a coup.
The 62-year-old Putin showed no apparent signs of ill health as he met with Kyrgyzstan’s president, Almazbek Atambayev, in the Constantine Palace outside St. Petersburg, the Associated Press reported. The intense guesswork, however, carried at least one clear message: how deeply Russia now depends on the whims of a single man.
In the absence of any real institutions or alternative structures of authority, power has centralized around Putin more than any leader since the iron-grip rule of Joseph Stalin. Other Soviet leaders were accountable to the Communist Party. One of them, Nikita Khrushchev, was even removed.
“It would be boring without gossip,” Putin, 62, told reporters outside St. Petersburg in his first public event since March 5. He met Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev in the Constantine Palace just outside the city.
In comments apparently encouraged by the Kremlin, the Kyrgyz president gave a personal appraisal of Putin’s health, telling reporters that “Vladimir Vladimirovich showed me around, drove around, he himself was at the wheel – so that there will be less gossip.”
A rosy-faced Putin smiled broadly, stroked his nose, then laughed. But he made no further public comments about his health before reporters were ushered from the room where the two leaders were sitting in gilded armchairs. The appearance lasted a little over two minutes.
Neither he nor the Kremlin offered any other details about why he missed a series of meetings and postponed one state visit during the period.
[Putin’s macho image gains followers][Putin’s macho image gains followers]
On Thursday, Putin’s spokesman announced that the president would not attend a meeting with the Federal Security Service, which he usually attends. Putin also postponed at trip to Kazakhstan, which has been rescheduled for later this week. On Thursday, Putin’s spokesman announced that the president would not attend a meeting with the Federal Security Service, which he usually attends. Putin also made a last-minute postponement for a trip to Kazakhstan, which has been rescheduled for later this week.
But the spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, insisted last week that Putin was healthy.But the spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, insisted last week that Putin was healthy.
There was been yet no official comment from the Kremlin on why Putin was out of the public eye — a rare absence for a leader who has built a reputation for hands-on leadership and personal vigor. There still has been no official comment from the Kremlin on why Putin was out of the public eye — nor any acknowledgment that anything was out of the ordinary. It was a rare absence for a leader who has built a reputation for hands-on leadership and personal vigor.
In comments apparently encouraged by the Kremlin, the Kyrgyzstan president gave a personal appraisal of Putin’s health, saying the Russian leader “drove me around the grounds, he himself sat at the wheel,” the Reuters news agency reported. The former KGB officer has no obvious political heir, nor is it entirely clear who would be in charge of Russia’s stockpile of nuclear weapons during times in which the leader is incapacitated.
Putin on Monday ordered a vast series of snap military exercises that sent nearly 40,000 Russian personnel into a state of full alert in the Arctic and in Russia’s western regions.
Putin’s disappearing act came amid a series of challenges facing the Kremlin, including further blows to the oil-dependent economy and furor from political opponents following the slaying of a main Putin critic, Boris Nemtsov, late last month. Russian authorities claim Nemtsov was killed by Islamists from Chechnya, but Nemtsov’s backers have dismissed the arrests as a potential coverup.Putin’s disappearing act came amid a series of challenges facing the Kremlin, including further blows to the oil-dependent economy and furor from political opponents following the slaying of a main Putin critic, Boris Nemtsov, late last month. Russian authorities claim Nemtsov was killed by Islamists from Chechnya, but Nemtsov’s backers have dismissed the arrests as a potential coverup.
Putin was last seen in public when he hosted Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. The Kremlin said the president had other official meetings in the following days, but there was no independent confirmation that Putin attended the sessions. Putin was last seen in public when he hosted Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. The Kremlin said the president had other official meetings in the following days, but Russian news outlets reported that the meetings may have taken place earlier than was claimed by the Kremlin.
There has been previous speculation about Putin’s health. In 2012, rumors erupted after he was absent from public life for several days. No explanations were given at the time. There has been previous speculation about Putin’s health. In 2012, rumors erupted after he was absent from public life for several days. No explanations were given at the time, although it was widely attributed to back problems.
Murphy reported from Washington.
Rumors abound over Putin’s vanishing actRumors abound over Putin’s vanishing act
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