September 28, 2008

As I have discussed in earlier posts on this site, rumors regarding the health of Tatarstan president Mintimir Shaimiev constituted the number one topic of local political commentary in Kazan the last couple of weeks I was there. These rumors became only more pronounced after September 21, the date which Shaimiev had been scheduled to return from his vacation in Turkey. Shaimiev made no public appearances after September 21, even as the official press center of the Tatarstan government issued messages on his behalf.

On September 26 Shaimiev suddenly appeared on television, giving an interview to life.ru in which he joked at length about the rumors. No explanation was made for the extension of his holiday, or for why no effort had been made over the previous two weeks to quell the rumors. Two days later, it was announced that Shaimiev had returned to Kazan from his vacation.

Irek Murtazin, the man who first posted the rumors on his blog on September 12, is currently being investigated by the state prosecutor. Murtazin also writes that his wife, a presenter on Vesti-Tatarstan, has been fired from her job in retribution for Murtazin's postings. Murtazin also appears unconvinced that the video of Shaimiev was actually shot at his hotel in Kemer.

Indeed, it is a strange video. Shaimiev is shown in shorts and hawaiian shirt, but none of the people shown walking in the background are dressed in ways one would expect of vacationers in the south of Turkey walking around the grounds of their hotel. Shaimiev also seems uncomfortable, laughing nervously while he fiddles with his sunglasses and frequently looking behind him. Prompted by the interviewer, who tells him that he swims three kilometers a day, Shaimiev talks about how much he loves swimming and the temperature of the water.

Murtazin points out that at one point (0:42) an individual in the background appears to be wearing a white robe, at which point the scene is cut, continuing with a closeup on Shaimiev's face. Later in the interview (1:57) there is a very quick blast of ambulance sirens of the sort that is made when an ambulance approaches the doors of a hospital.

I have no idea what to make of all this. Shaimiev is clearly alive and looks okay, at least healthy enough to conduct a two-minute interview. Nevertheless, the whole episode has been very odd. While I'm sure that my friends in Kazan are delighted to see Shaimiev looking healthy and giving interviews, I don't think this video will entirely douse people's suspicions that something happened to Shaimiev during the course of his Turkish vacation.