There has been a lot of speculation this week concerning the whereabouts of Vladimir Putin, who is reported not to have been seen in public since March 5th.

Local media has even alleged that a picture of the president meeting the leader of the Republic of Karelia released by the Kremlin earlier this week was actually taken the day before Putin's 'disappearance'. 

The mystery of Mr Putin's whereabouts followed the cancellation of his planned trip to Kazakhstan and the postponement of a treaty signing. The New York Times also reports he failed to attend a meeting of the country's domestic intelligence service, the Federal Security Service - a reportedly unusual absence for the Russian leader.

That paper also reported some of the most dramatic rumours doing the rounds, writing that "Andrei Illarionov, a former presidential adviser, wrote a blog post suggesting that the president had been overthrown by hard-liners in a palace coup endorsed by the Russian Orthodox Church." Others have suggested that he is simply attempting to keep away from any controversy, with the speculation of a Kremlin power struggle in the wake of the assassination of rival politician Boris Nemtsov.

Another rumour proposes that Mr Putin's alleged girlfriend - Olympic gymnast Alina Kabayeva - had given birth to a baby girl in Switzerland. However, the Kremlin told Russian Forbes magazine that "information about the birth of a baby fathered by Vladimir Putin does not correspond to reality". 

One of the more credible rumours suggests that Mr Putin may simply have the flu, backed up by a Moscow Times report that "more than 1,000 Russian schools have closed amid a worsening flu epidemic".

With the cheeky hashtag #putinumer ('#PutinDied') popular among many of Mr Putin's critics in Russia this week, the Kremlin has continued to stress that the president is fine and healthy. Asked if he was in good health by Reuters, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied, "yes. We've already said this a hundred times. This isn't funny any more."

Photos and footage were also released yesterday of Mr Putin 'at work' with President of the Supreme Court Vyacheslav Lebedev:

Presidential Press and Information Office

As Adam Taylor in The Washington Post writes, "while rumors are everywhere (some say he has had a stroke; others suggest plastic surgery) it's all just speculation at the moment."