Moscow: Where is Vladimir Putin? This is the question that has stirred a hornet's nest in Russia and sparked a flurry of speculations on social media with rumours ranging from him being unwell, ousted in a coup or having travelled to Switzerland to him being dead.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has not been seen in public since March 5 and Moscow is abuzz with rumours galore with some even saying that Putin is dead as tweets with hashtag #ПутинУмер (translates to #putindied) were doing the rounds on Twitter.
Netizens were at their creative best while tweeting rumours about Putin's whereabouts with some speculating he might have gone to fight the ISIS.
Here are some of them:
UNCONFIRMED: Putin decided to die to divert attention from Nemtsov's death #WhereIsPutin #ПутинУмер pic.twitter.com/xcBa8TwM5f
— Exen (@Exen) March 13, 2015
Where's Putin? Found him. #ПутинУмер pic.twitter.com/3p1rdzyfST
— Ken Dennis (@KenDennis) March 15, 2015
This is classic Cold War: Putin just has a cold. #ПутинУмер
— ryutin (@ryutin) March 14, 2015
Hey, has anyone checked with the Chechens on Putins whereabouts? #ПутинУмер
— Boris Zilberman (@rolltidebmz) March 12, 2015
Maybe Putin is just getting a new face lift? #ПутинУмер
— Boris Zilberman (@rolltidebmz) March 12, 2015
Just because he's off wrestling bears and being a badass, doesn't mean #PutinIsDead... pic.twitter.com/d9N11GTfwl
— Alex Cowan (@DesareonFilms) March 13, 2015
Sad if #putinisdead, he will miss his trial in ICC over invasion of #Ukraine, #MH17, #Ilovaisk, #Debaltseve, other war crimes.
— Mikko Laaksonen (@MikkoLaaksonen1) March 12, 2015
One of the speculations suggests that the Russian leader may have been overthrown in a coup staged by shoddy security service agents, the Daily Mail reported citing the remarks of Geydar Dzhemal, claimed chairman of the pro-Kremlin national Islamic Committee.
Accusing former Federal Security Service (FSB) chief Nikolai Patrushev of being the mastermind of the plot, Dzhemal said that Putin has been “neutralised” but is still alive.
'I think that Putin is neutralised at the moment, but of course, he is alive,' said Dzhemal according to the Daily Mail.
'He is under the control of the power-wielding agencies, who have, in my opinion, organised a coup d'etat, “he added.
Putin's security chief Mr Zolotov too is missing and there were reports that he may have been killed.
Possible coup d’etat in #Russia General Zolotov #Putin’s security chief allegedly killed. #putindead #путинумер http://t.co/HEDjpZsU0A
— Liubomir Topaloff (@LuboTop) March 15, 2015
Also, a former adviser to Putin has suggested the same in his blog. Andrei Illarionov, Putin's former advisor wrote in his blog post that Putin had fled the country after being overthrown in a coup.
However, according to another theory, Putin might have taken leave to go to Switzerland to see his girlfriend give birth to his child.
Putin's alleged girlfriend - Olympic gymnast Alina Kabayeva - had reportedly given birth to a baby girl in Switzerland, however, the Kremlin denied the reports.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin is trying its best to quench the rumours, and it also released a video of Putin at work, however it is thought to have been pulled from archives the Kremlin
The website of Russian President meanwhile, continued posting news about Putin going about his normal business.
The presidential website also showed a picture of Putin meeting with President of the Supreme Court Vyacheslav Lebede on 13th March.
The President's Twitter handle also tried to portray business as usual mentioning Putin's scheduled meetings with Leonid Tibilov of South Ossetia on March 18.
On March 18, Vladimir Putin will meet with President Leonid Tibilov of South Ossetia http://t.co/S2bfRDvUnU
— President of Russia (@KremlinRussia_E) March 13, 2015
The rumours about 62-year-old Putin gone missing comes at a time when Moscow is shocked by murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, with many suspecting Kremlin's role in his murder.
Also, Putin's absence comes at a time when Russian economy is plummeting under the burden of sanctions from the US and the European Union after Moscow's alleged role in eastern Ukraine crisis.
Ukraine says that Russia has been sending troops and weapons to support pro-Russian separatists in their fight against Kiev. The crisis was sparked last year when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine.
