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Where is Vladimir Putin? What we know about the Russian president's "disappearance."
Updated by Amanda Taub on March 14, 2015, 5:51 p.m. ET @amandataub
Putin during a meeting on March 3, immediately before his "disappearance" ( Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images)
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Putin hasn't been seen in public since March 5, but rumors that he had disappeared began in earnest March 11, after Putin canceled a visit to Kazakhstan this week.
An anonymous Kazakh government official told Reuters, "It looks like he has fallen ill."
Reuters later reported that Putin had also rescheduled a meeting with officials from Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia region, which was set to take place on March 11 but has now been postponed to March 18.
The speculation
Reuters triggered much of the speculation with their report on Wednesday that Putin had cancelled his meetings in Kazakhstan because he was ill. Since then, rumors have been swirling about where Putin could be — some joking, but some more serious.
Some in Russia have speculated that Putin could be ill with the flu or a stroke, away attending the birth of a "love child" with his rumored partner Alina Kabayeva, or lying low to deal with political intrigue — perhaps infighting between the FSB security services and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, or even a palace coup.
Social media jokers have used the hashtag #ПутинУмер ("Putin is dead") to speculate that he could be dead, and joke that he will be buried topless — a reference to his fondness for posing for bare-chested photos — or that he couldn't possibly die because "it's not profitable."
Speculation reached an even higher pitch Friday and Saturday. There were rumors on social media that the Kremlin was planning a major announcement, and Russian website Vlasti reported that journalists had been warned not to leave Moscow over the weekend because the Kremlin expected to hold a press conference. But the report was poorly sourced and does not seem credible in light of Friday's announcement that Putin will meet Monday with the leader of Kyrgyzstan.
The Kremlin's denials
On Thursday, Putin's spokesperson Dmitri Peskov denied that the president was ill, insisting: "He has meetings all the time. He has meetings today, tomorrow. I don't know which ones we will make public."
On Friday, Peskov issued a more specific denial, this time to specifically deny the tabloid rumor that Putin had snuck away to be with a newborn "love child."
"The information on a baby born to Vladimir Putin is false," Peskov said, according to state news agency ITAR-TASS. "I am going to ask people who have money to organize a contest on the best media rumor."
On Friday, the Kremlin announced that Putin will have a meeting on Monday with Almazbek Atambaev, the president of Kyrgyzstan, in St. Petersburg.
The odd photos and videos
The Kremlin released this photo of Putin supposedly meeting with Dmitry Kobylkin on March 10, but many have speculahttps://defence.pk/forums/world-affairs.59/create-threadted that it was actually taken days earlier. (Russian Presidential Press and Information Office)
The Kremlin has released photos and footage of meetings that supposedly took place in the last week. However, that hasn't put a stop to the rumors. Many suggested that the dates of the photos and footage were false — that they might have been created earlier and then released to create the illusion that Putin was still working.
Where is Vladimir Putin? What we know about the Russian president's "disappearance." - Vox
@WebMaster @Aeronaut @Abu Nasar @Akheilos @Hazzy997 @al-Hasani @Yzd Khalifa @Mosamania @MastanKhan @Jungibaaz @Kaan @GreenFalcon @Zarvan @PWFI @chauvunist @Areesh @BDforever @Fahad Khan 2 @JanjaWeed @Devil Soul @Fulcrum15 @ranjeet @Koovie @Jazzbot @Raja.Pakistani @NKVD @nair @levina @Jungibaaz @W.11 @American Pakistani @HRK @Leader @iranigirl2 @Jaanbaz @Ceylal @MOHSENAM @Zizou @500 @Luftwaffe @Armstrong @Sidak @scorpionx @Indischer @Roybot @krash @American Pakistani @Soumitra @Nihonjin1051 @cnleio @Jf Thunder @Imran Khan@Horus@Norwegian @OrionHunter @cb4 @Arsalan@Donatello@Oscar@Hyperion@Bratva@DESERT FIGHTER@Dazzler@ChineseTiger1986 @Tempest II @A.Rafay @Ahmad1996 @airmarshal @Akheilos @Armstrong @arushbhai @AstanoshKhan @AZADPAKISTAN2009 @balixd @batmannow @Bilal. @chauvunist @Crypto @Dr. Stranglove @Evil Flare @EyanKhan @GIANTsasquatch @graphican @Green Arrow @Guleen Ahmed @HRK @Jazzbot @Junaid B @Jzaib @Khalidr @khawaja07 @Leader @Luftwaffe @Marshmallow @mr42O @Muhammad Omar @nomi007 @Pak123 @Pakistani shaheens @Pakistanisage @Peaceful Civilian @pkuser2k12 @Pukhtoon @PWFI @raazh @Rafael @Rashid Mahmood @RescueRanger @Saifkhan12 @Sedqal @SHAMK9 @Spy Master @Stealth @Strike X @SUPARCO @sur@syedali73@Tameem@TankMan@Tayyab1796@Zarvan@waleed3601@AdeelFaheem@Rajput_Pakistani@Men in Green@orakzai4u@IceCold@LoveIcon@razahassan1997@Cheetah786@Dil Pakistan@Donatello@asq@junaid hamza@SBD-3@cb4@AsianUnion@Aether@xyxmt@Proudpakistaniguy@WishLivePak@Waffen SS@FaujHistorian@Fracker@Ranches@ghoul@Jf Thunder@GreenFalcon@genmirajborgza786@orangzaib@Pakistani Exile@KURUMAYA@Irfan Baloch@ali_raza@Syed.Ali.Haider@dexter@Patriots@muslim_pakistani@W.11@Meengla@zaid butt@ajpirzada@Shoaib Rathore@OrionHunter@CHARGER@Major Sam@yesboss@TheFlyingPretzel@TheNoob@Bratva@ghazaliy2k@Viny@StormShadow@suresh1773@SOHEIL@venu309@danish_vij@Force-India@faisal6309@SpArK@S.U.R.B.@vsdave2302@jarves@WAJsal@pursuit of happiness@Winchester@janon@pak-marine@AgNoStiC MuSliM@420canada@sathya@HughSlaman@ChineseTiger1986 @Chinese-Dragon @Chinese Bamboo @cirr @rott@rockstar08
Updated by Amanda Taub on March 14, 2015, 5:51 p.m. ET @amandataub
Putin during a meeting on March 3, immediately before his "disappearance" ( Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images)
Don't miss stories. Follow Vox!
- Putin has not been seen in public since March 5, which has triggered rumors and speculation about why. Putin has gone "missing" like this before and will probably reappear — but there's no way to know for sure what could be going on.
- The Kremlin has released photos and news footage of Putin in recent days, but that has not been enough to quell the rumors, and some suspect the photos could be from an older event. On Friday, the Kremlin announced that Putin will meet with Kyrgyzstan's President Almazbek Atambaev in St. Petersburg this Monday, suggesting confidence that Putin's absence is temporary.
- Though Putin is probably fine, the commotion in Russia over where he is speaks to underlying fear and uncertainty about what happens after Putin. No one knows who would assume power if he died, got sick, or otherwise left office. And that says something about the instability and uncertainty of the Russian state under Putin.
Putin hasn't been seen in public since March 5, but rumors that he had disappeared began in earnest March 11, after Putin canceled a visit to Kazakhstan this week.
An anonymous Kazakh government official told Reuters, "It looks like he has fallen ill."
Reuters later reported that Putin had also rescheduled a meeting with officials from Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia region, which was set to take place on March 11 but has now been postponed to March 18.
The speculation
Reuters triggered much of the speculation with their report on Wednesday that Putin had cancelled his meetings in Kazakhstan because he was ill. Since then, rumors have been swirling about where Putin could be — some joking, but some more serious.
Some in Russia have speculated that Putin could be ill with the flu or a stroke, away attending the birth of a "love child" with his rumored partner Alina Kabayeva, or lying low to deal with political intrigue — perhaps infighting between the FSB security services and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, or even a palace coup.
Social media jokers have used the hashtag #ПутинУмер ("Putin is dead") to speculate that he could be dead, and joke that he will be buried topless — a reference to his fondness for posing for bare-chested photos — or that he couldn't possibly die because "it's not profitable."
Speculation reached an even higher pitch Friday and Saturday. There were rumors on social media that the Kremlin was planning a major announcement, and Russian website Vlasti reported that journalists had been warned not to leave Moscow over the weekend because the Kremlin expected to hold a press conference. But the report was poorly sourced and does not seem credible in light of Friday's announcement that Putin will meet Monday with the leader of Kyrgyzstan.
The Kremlin's denials
On Thursday, Putin's spokesperson Dmitri Peskov denied that the president was ill, insisting: "He has meetings all the time. He has meetings today, tomorrow. I don't know which ones we will make public."
On Friday, Peskov issued a more specific denial, this time to specifically deny the tabloid rumor that Putin had snuck away to be with a newborn "love child."
"The information on a baby born to Vladimir Putin is false," Peskov said, according to state news agency ITAR-TASS. "I am going to ask people who have money to organize a contest on the best media rumor."
On Friday, the Kremlin announced that Putin will have a meeting on Monday with Almazbek Atambaev, the president of Kyrgyzstan, in St. Petersburg.
The odd photos and videos
The Kremlin released this photo of Putin supposedly meeting with Dmitry Kobylkin on March 10, but many have speculahttps://defence.pk/forums/world-affairs.59/create-threadted that it was actually taken days earlier. (Russian Presidential Press and Information Office)
The Kremlin has released photos and footage of meetings that supposedly took place in the last week. However, that hasn't put a stop to the rumors. Many suggested that the dates of the photos and footage were false — that they might have been created earlier and then released to create the illusion that Putin was still working.
Where is Vladimir Putin? What we know about the Russian president's "disappearance." - Vox
@WebMaster @Aeronaut @Abu Nasar @Akheilos @Hazzy997 @al-Hasani @Yzd Khalifa @Mosamania @MastanKhan @Jungibaaz @Kaan @GreenFalcon @Zarvan @PWFI @chauvunist @Areesh @BDforever @Fahad Khan 2 @JanjaWeed @Devil Soul @Fulcrum15 @ranjeet @Koovie @Jazzbot @Raja.Pakistani @NKVD @nair @levina @Jungibaaz @W.11 @American Pakistani @HRK @Leader @iranigirl2 @Jaanbaz @Ceylal @MOHSENAM @Zizou @500 @Luftwaffe @Armstrong @Sidak @scorpionx @Indischer @Roybot @krash @American Pakistani @Soumitra @Nihonjin1051 @cnleio @Jf Thunder @Imran Khan@Horus@Norwegian @OrionHunter @cb4 @Arsalan@Donatello@Oscar@Hyperion@Bratva@DESERT FIGHTER@Dazzler@ChineseTiger1986 @Tempest II @A.Rafay @Ahmad1996 @airmarshal @Akheilos @Armstrong @arushbhai @AstanoshKhan @AZADPAKISTAN2009 @balixd @batmannow @Bilal. @chauvunist @Crypto @Dr. Stranglove @Evil Flare @EyanKhan @GIANTsasquatch @graphican @Green Arrow @Guleen Ahmed @HRK @Jazzbot @Junaid B @Jzaib @Khalidr @khawaja07 @Leader @Luftwaffe @Marshmallow @mr42O @Muhammad Omar @nomi007 @Pak123 @Pakistani shaheens @Pakistanisage @Peaceful Civilian @pkuser2k12 @Pukhtoon @PWFI @raazh @Rafael @Rashid Mahmood @RescueRanger @Saifkhan12 @Sedqal @SHAMK9 @Spy Master @Stealth @Strike X @SUPARCO @sur@syedali73@Tameem@TankMan@Tayyab1796@Zarvan@waleed3601@AdeelFaheem@Rajput_Pakistani@Men in Green@orakzai4u@IceCold@LoveIcon@razahassan1997@Cheetah786@Dil Pakistan@Donatello@asq@junaid hamza@SBD-3@cb4@AsianUnion@Aether@xyxmt@Proudpakistaniguy@WishLivePak@Waffen SS@FaujHistorian@Fracker@Ranches@ghoul@Jf Thunder@GreenFalcon@genmirajborgza786@orangzaib@Pakistani Exile@KURUMAYA@Irfan Baloch@ali_raza@Syed.Ali.Haider@dexter@Patriots@muslim_pakistani@W.11@Meengla@zaid butt@ajpirzada@Shoaib Rathore@OrionHunter@CHARGER@Major Sam@yesboss@TheFlyingPretzel@TheNoob@Bratva@ghazaliy2k@Viny@StormShadow@suresh1773@SOHEIL@venu309@danish_vij@Force-India@faisal6309@SpArK@S.U.R.B.@vsdave2302@jarves@WAJsal@pursuit of happiness@Winchester@janon@pak-marine@AgNoStiC MuSliM@420canada@sathya@HughSlaman@ChineseTiger1986 @Chinese-Dragon @Chinese Bamboo @cirr @rott@rockstar08
what a joke ... Seriously How it's possible ? 
