Putin reappears after mysterious absence

Russian President Vladimir Putin reappeared on Monday after an unusually long absence from public view.

Putin attended a meeting with President Almazbek Atambayev of Kyrgyzstan.

This meeting, held in St. Petersburg, comes after Putin canceled several scheduled events last week, leading to conspiracy theories about where he might be and speculation about his health.

Putin was most recently seen in public at a news conference on March 5. Last week, Russian state media published old photos and reported Putin's Monday appearance as if it already had happened.

PUTIN LIVES. RT @dimsmirnov175: Встреча Путина и Атамбаева началась pic.twitter.com/sd2D0OTQir

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) March 16, 2015

There he is, still breaking hands. RT @dimsmirnov175: Судя по лицу Атамбаева, рукопожатие и Путина крепкое pic.twitter.com/dGnfZdjVsb

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) March 16, 2015

Putin didn't seem bothered by the rumors surrounding his absence.

"It would be boring without gossip," Putin said, smiling easily before television cameras and looking relaxed, if pale, in a dark suit and tie.

His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, mocked the press for its interest, referring sarcastically to the various rumors: "So you've seen the broken, paralyzed president, who has been captured by generals? He's only just flown in from Switzerland, where he attended a birth as you know."

In a carefully choreographed double-act, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev also vouched for the Russian leader's health, saying that Putin "just now drove me around the grounds; he himself sat at the wheel."

The Russian leader prides himself on his macho image. In 2008 he said he worked like a "galley slave" to run Russia. Typically, he is shown most days on state-controlled television, meeting officials in Moscow or traveling toRussia's far-flung regions.

Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, told Business Insider on Friday that Putin's absence could have been well-calculated.

"Putin is nothing if not capricious. He enjoys keeping people waiting and guessing, it's part of a display of the trappings of power," he said.

As more time passed, however, the Kremlin stumbled.

"The Kremlin is by no means a stranger to maskirovka, strategic deception, but I see no reason to think this was anything of the sort," Mark Galeotti, a New York University professor specializing in global affairs and Russian and Slavic studies, told Business Insider by email last week.

Galeotti said Putin's disappearance made the Kremlin look clumsy and "attracted attention to Russia, its plans, and intentions."

Putin hadn't been out of the Kremlin spotlight for more than a day since the early 2000s, when he dropped off the grid after a national tragedy (the sinking of the submarine Kursk in 2000) and in 2002 when terrorists took over a Moscow theater and more than 100 civilians died. So his lengthy absence is unprecedented in that it has no obvious cause.

Putin is, however, dealing with serious matters.

On February 27, a gunman murdered prominent Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov outside the Kremlin. Bremmer said that it was "extremely unlikely" Putin ordered Nemtsov's killing but that "it was clearly an inside job." He added that dealing with the situation was a top priority of Putin's.

There are signs of turmoil in Putin's inner circle as well.

Two people in Putin's circle of advisers told Bloomberg that the Russian president was "becoming more critical" of longtime confidant and Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin after the 52-year-old made a series of moves that irked Putin.

And a biographer of Putin told Business Insider factions within the Kremlin power structure had become visible, there would most likely be some power changeups, and "fights over the No. 2 position"— aka the position held by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev — had "exploded!"

This led to speculation about some sort of coup.

Other rumors suggested Putin died, was on paternity leave, had cosmetic surgery, or was seriously ill.

But it's possible that we'll never know the reason behind Putin's unusual absence.

Jeremy Bender contributed to this report.

SEE ALSO: Here are the best theories about why Putin has disappeared

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