Russian President Vladimir Putin has laid a wreath at a Moscow monument in ceremonies to mark the National Unity Day holiday in his first public appearance since rumors last week that he was suffering from health problems.
The 60-year-old Putin walked slowly but without assistance to the monument.
A newspaper reported last week that the president had injured himself during a publicity stunt in September in which he flew a motorized hang-glider to guide endangered cranes on their migration.
He canceled a few scheduled foreign trips and has appeared in the Kremlin only a few times in recent weeks.
A presidential spokesman said on November 1 that Putin had a strained muscle in his back but denied the problem was connected with the crane event.
Putin is an avid martial-arts devotee and skier, and carefully cultivates his image as an outdoorsman.
The 60-year-old Putin walked slowly but without assistance to the monument.
A newspaper reported last week that the president had injured himself during a publicity stunt in September in which he flew a motorized hang-glider to guide endangered cranes on their migration.
He canceled a few scheduled foreign trips and has appeared in the Kremlin only a few times in recent weeks.
A presidential spokesman said on November 1 that Putin had a strained muscle in his back but denied the problem was connected with the crane event.
Putin is an avid martial-arts devotee and skier, and carefully cultivates his image as an outdoorsman.
