Kompromat.ru is reporting that the office of the public prosecutor of Tatarstan has started an investigation into the circulation of rumors that Tatarstan President Mintimir Shaimiev has died. The rumors, which began spreading across the republic last Friday, came in the wake of a posting on the blog of Irek Murtazin, a former press secretary of Shaimiev. The rumors are being blamed for a nearly ten percent fall in the value of the state-held giant Tatneft on the Tatarstan stock exchange. Prosecutor Kafil' Amirov has been quoted by kompromat.ru as saying that: The false report of the death of a leading figure in the Russian Federation, and which provoked an enormous response, cannot escape the attention of the state prosecutor's office. I have given instructions to begin an investigation into the motives which compelled Mr. Murtazin to spread this information on his blog. Murtazin, meanwhile, has not renounced his report, and has raised the possibility that Shaimiev could be ailing in Turkey. Shaimiev is due to return to Kazan on September 21. He has not been seen or heard on television since Murtazin's original post last week. On Monday, the official information agency of Tatarstan announced that Shaimiev had spoken to Turkish President Abdullah Gul by telephone, inviting Gül to visit Kazan during his visit to Russia later this year.