Now missing for 10 days: speculation over Putin has reached fever pitch
An activist sprays champagne at a mock funeral plate, depicting Russia's President Vladimir Putin as former German dictator Adolf Hitler, during a "Funeral of Putin" performance in a front of Russian embassy in Kiev (REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko)
Media speculation reached fever pitch over the weekend about the whereabouts of Vladimir Putin - now missing from the public eye for 10 days - with swirling theories of bloody Kremlin coups, secret births or sudden deaths.
But yesterday, the reality appeared as if it might be a little more prosaic: maybe the Russian president was just in bed with a bad cold.
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