Absence Of Vladimir Putin Gives Rise To Death Rumors

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has not been seen or heard from in 10 days. He’s been missing since March 5, BBC News Europe reports. It is highly unusual for any nation’s leader to not be heard from in that time, including Vladimir Putin. Many Americans would surely wonder what is happening if President Barack Obama had not been heard from in 10 days.

“Such a long, unexplained absence from public view has fueled rumors among the chattering classes here and across the internet, that something is wrong – that the president might be sick or even dead or he could be the victim of a palace coup,” BBC News Europe reports.

The absence of Vladimir Putin leads to speculation it might be related to the death of Russian opposition leader Boris Memtsov, who was assassinated near the Kremlin.

There is always the possibility that the most simple explanation might hold true. “And of course at the end of it all when the mystery is finally resolved, it may turn out that the president simply had a bad case of flu,” BBC News Europe suggests about the apparent absence of Vladimir Putin.

“Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on a report from the independent news outlet Dozhd on Sunday that said Russian President Vladimir Putin had not been in Moscow for the last several days. Putin, who has not been seen in public or on live television broadcasts for more than a week, postponed a meeting with Kazakh and Belarussian leaders last week,” Reuters is reporting today.

Russian news source Dozhd has reported been told that Putin is at his residence on Lake Valdai in Novgorod. Reuters reports that a Kazakh government official has anonymously claimed that Putin canceled the summit with the Belarussian and Kazakh leaders due to an illness.

One rumor has it that Vladimir Putin has been ousted from his office via a “silent coup,” the Inquisitr reported today.

“Russian strongman Vladimir Putin has been AWOL for more than a week, and reports now say that the 62-year-old president may have been deposed in a silent coup deep within the Kremlin. But Putin is scheduled to make a public appearance on Monday, so the mystery of his disappearance could be cleared up at that time — or it could grow even deeper if Putin pulls a no-show, as he has at several announced meetings since March 5,” the Inquisitr reported.

[Image of Vladimir Putin from Reuters]