For the past week and a half, the main topic for political speculation on the Russian Internet—but not on state-run TV—was the disappearance of President Vladimir Putin from all public events, and even from the Eurasian summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, which had to be postponed until March 20. The hosts were rather irritated by the lack of explanations from Moscow, guessing that Putin was probably sick (Newsru.com, March 11). Rumors exploded when Putin failed to appear at a session of the Collegium of the Federal Security Service (FSB). Meanwhile, “canned” footage of his briefings with mid-level officials, which had actually …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation