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| Vladimir Putin Returns After Absence and Dismisses Rumors | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| President Vladimir V. Putin reappeared in public on Monday after a curious absence of more than a week, appearing healthy, offering no explanation and commenting wryly that things “would be boring without rumors.” | President Vladimir V. Putin reappeared in public on Monday after a curious absence of more than a week, appearing healthy, offering no explanation and commenting wryly that things “would be boring without rumors.” |
| Rossiya 24, a state television station, showed Mr. Putin with the president of Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambayev, at a palace in St. Petersburg. The two discussed Kyrgyzstan’s planned accession to a Russian-backed regional trade group. | Rossiya 24, a state television station, showed Mr. Putin with the president of Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambayev, at a palace in St. Petersburg. The two discussed Kyrgyzstan’s planned accession to a Russian-backed regional trade group. |
| The meeting reportedly began more than an hour late, prolonging concerns about Mr. Putin’s whereabouts, a subject that has obsessed Moscow and Russia for days. | The meeting reportedly began more than an hour late, prolonging concerns about Mr. Putin’s whereabouts, a subject that has obsessed Moscow and Russia for days. |
| Until Monday, the last confirmed public sighting of the Russian president had been at a meeting with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi of Italy on March 5. Mr. Putin abruptly canceled a trip to Kazakhstan and postponed a treaty signing with representatives from South Ossetia, who were reportedly told not to bother flying to Moscow. | |
| Further stirring unease here, the Russian leader was absent from an annual meeting of top officials from the F.S.B., Russia’s domestic intelligence service. | |
| The rumor mill churned, and among the possible explanations were that Mr. Putin had fallen ill with a virulent strain of the flu, that he had surreptitiously flown to Switzerland for the birth of his love child, that he had had a stroke and that he had been ousted in a coup. | The rumor mill churned, and among the possible explanations were that Mr. Putin had fallen ill with a virulent strain of the flu, that he had surreptitiously flown to Switzerland for the birth of his love child, that he had had a stroke and that he had been ousted in a coup. |
| Dmitry S. Peskov, the president’s spokesman, brushed off the health questions, saying that Mr. Putin’s handshake was so firm it was bone crushing, and that the president had been busy working. | Dmitry S. Peskov, the president’s spokesman, brushed off the health questions, saying that Mr. Putin’s handshake was so firm it was bone crushing, and that the president had been busy working. |
| Though Mr. Putin was mostly filmed sitting down, Mr. Atambayev volunteered to members of the news media in St. Petersburg that he and Mr. Putin had toured the palace grounds and that the Russian leader was by all appearances in good health. | |
| “With your permission, Vladimir Vladimirovich, I would like to add something here,” Mr. Atambayev said, addressing the Russian leader before the news media. “Just now, Vladimir Vladimirovich drove me around the grounds, he was sitting behind the wheel himself. This was to dispel the rumors. I often hear different rumors about myself, this isn’t right. That is, the president of Russia not only walks, he races around, he gives guests rides.” | |
| Mr. Putin’s departure from the public eye captivated Moscow’s political class, already uneasy from the war simmering in neighboring Ukraine and from the killing of the opposition leader Boris Y. Nemtsov on Feb. 27. | Mr. Putin’s departure from the public eye captivated Moscow’s political class, already uneasy from the war simmering in neighboring Ukraine and from the killing of the opposition leader Boris Y. Nemtsov on Feb. 27. |
| Before reappearing in St. Petersburg, on Monday morning Mr. Putin ordered a military exercise in western and northern Russia that put the Northern Fleet, the Western Military District and some airborne forces on full combat readiness, the Tass news agency reported. The exercise will test the readiness of 38,000 soldiers, 56 ships and submarines, and 110 planes and helicopters to defend Russia’s Arctic borders, Tass said. | Before reappearing in St. Petersburg, on Monday morning Mr. Putin ordered a military exercise in western and northern Russia that put the Northern Fleet, the Western Military District and some airborne forces on full combat readiness, the Tass news agency reported. The exercise will test the readiness of 38,000 soldiers, 56 ships and submarines, and 110 planes and helicopters to defend Russia’s Arctic borders, Tass said. |