Poor Dmitry Medvedev: only two weeks after Russia's second-in-command faced down allegations of running a corruption empire, he's now allegedly been caught pulling a sneaky sick day.
The Russian prime minister was snapped on Instagram enjoying the elite Russian ski resort of Arkhyz, just two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that his second-in-command was simply “too ill” to attend a top government meeting.
Putin told Russia's Security Council on Tuesday that Medvedev was suffering from the flu. “The [country's flu] epidemic is in decline, but the situation is still serious: Dmitry Anatolyevich has not been spared,” Putin announced.
The owner of Coffee Bar Berry posted a photo of the prime minister in her shop in in Arkhyz on Thursday. She said that Medvedev had enjoyed a drink along with Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Khloponin.
Both men approved of the coffee shop's rebranded Americano: the “Rusiano,” she wrote.
Russia's parliament announced on Friday that they would not be calling on Medvedev to answer for accusations of corruption put forward by opposition rival Alexei Navalny.
Russia's Anti-Corruption Foundation, an NGO created by Navalny in 2011, accused Medvedev on March 2 of collecting bribes through charitable organizations run by close friends and former classmates.
The organization claimed that Medvedev owns four mansions across the country, each worth several million dollars. Other alleged holdings include two large plots of land in Krasnodar, an Italian vineyard, and a lavish residential building in the heart of St. Petersburg with luxurious apartments and two yachts.
The Kremlin has refused to comment on the claims.
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