<text>  Vladimir Putin has appeared on television for the first time in a week amid health fears and suggestions that he is being subject to a coup, while rumours persist that his 31-year-old girlfriend is about to give birth. Putin, 62, had cancelled several planned meetings during the week leading to speculation over his health and even claims that he was fighting to retain his position. Channel NTV showed footage of Putin meeting with supreme court president Vyacheslav Lebedev, which it claims was shot on Friday. Scroll down for video . Vladimir Putin, left, met with the supreme court president Vyacheslav Lebedev, right, earlier today . According to Putins staff, he was discussing judicial reform and the likely increase in the number of bankruptcies as as result of Russias economic collapse. Putin is due to meet with the president of Kyrgyzstan in St Petersburg on Monday according to the Kremlin. The Russian president was last seen in public on March 5. For the past week, the Russian government has been reluctantly answering questions about Putins health and suggestions that his unofficial girlfriend Alina Kabayeva had checked into a Swiss maternity clinic. Rumours about 31-year-old Alina Kabayeva surfaced with reports in Switzerland, Italy and Russia suggesting the gymnast had either given birth or was about to do so. It comes amid increased speculation over what has happened to Putin with the Russian leader not having been seen for a week. Alluring: Many Russians consider Alina Kabayeva the countrys undeclared First Lady . The claims focused on an elite clinic in Lugano, in the Italian region of the neutral country, with some accounts saying she had a new daughter. Putins spokesman - who has never confirmed a relationship between the 62 year old strongman and the Olympic gold-medal winner - insisted: Information about the birth of Vladimir Putins child does not correspond to reality. The Russian embassy in Kiev refused to comment on a report on the speculation in newspaper Blick. Russian Tatler yesterday repeated gossip that Kabayeva has two children already by Putin but adds there is no official confirmation. Kabayeva has been largely out of sight since quitting as an MP in Putins United Russia party last September, when she took over as head of a major media conglomerate. Meanwhile, the Kremlin today issued a new picture showing Putin meeting the chairman of the Supreme Court Vyacheslav Lebedev at his out-of-Moscow residence Novo-Ogaryovo. The image was meant to scotch suggestions that Putin was not at work amid speculation over a coup or illness. However, there were immediate claims the picture and TV footage was old, and that it was further evidence of his mystery absence. Current rumours in Moscow include Putin suffering a stroke, or an unfolding palace coup, following his sudden cancellation of a scheduled trip to Kazakhstan. With Moscow in febrile mood, a former senior aide to the strongman claimed another ex-KGB spy is being urgently lined up to take over from him. The theory suggests the Kremlins chief of staff Sergei Ivanov - a former defence minister - will become prime minister in place of the lacklustre Dmitry Medvedev. After this switch, dubbed a conspiracy of generals, Putin - currently the subject of swirling rumours over his health after not being seen in public for more than a week - would be swiftly ousted. Under the Russian constitution, in the event of a president leaving office, the prime minister replaces him in an acting role pending elections. This latest forecast of an imminent sea change in Russian politics came from Andrei Illarionov, Putins former chief economics aide, who last year predicted Putins land grab against Ukraine three weeks before it happened. While the Kremlin insists Putin is healthy and in full control of his government, Illarionov claimed: In the next few days we should expect the resignation of prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, and Sergei Ivanov being appointed in his place. After this, the public is likely to be informed that the national leader Putin needs a well deserved rest. Putin hands flowers to Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Alina Kabayeva after awarding her with an Order of Friendship at an award ceremony in the Kremlin in 2001 . It has been claimed Russias former defence minister Sergei Ivanov pictured will become prime minister in place of the lacklustre Dmitry Medvedev . Observers note that in recent days, Ivanov - who retained the military rank of colonel general and whose eldest son was killed in a mysterious drowning accident in Dubai last November - has been little seen in public. And Medvedev, who served as president for four years to 2012, is also out of the limelight. Some Kremlin-watchers say that Western sanctions have created huge tensions inside Putins fractious entourage in recent weeks, with cash streams closed off. The murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov - branded a provocation by Putin - has only intensified the infighting with blame for his slaying blamed on the presidents close allies in Chechnya. Illarionov, a senior follow at the Cato Institute in Washington, earlier alleged a cover-up by the Russian authorities over Nemtsovs shooting yards from the Kremlin. Putin is said by his spokesman Dmitry Peskov to be exhaustively working on documents but has - most unusually - not been seen publicly since 5 March, more than a week. Miss Kabayeva performs her routines during two events in Kiev, Ukraine, in 2000 left and 1999 right. The former gymnast is rumoured to be the presidents girlfriend . The Kremlin insists he is healthy, but this has done nothing to end speculation from Russians who for years were lied to over the health of geriatric Soviet leaders, and also Putins predecessor Boris Yeltsin. Peskovs assertion that Putin is in good health, however, could also mean recent developments in Russian politics required Putins presence in Moscow, stated The Moscow Times today. A heightening of the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, the investigation into whose death was reportedly accompanied by signs of an increased power struggle within the Russian administration, could have kept Putin busy behind closed doors. In December, Putin brushed aside claims he could be overthrown. I can assure you that we dont have palaces, so a palace coup isnt really possible. The official presidential residence is the Kremlin. It is well protected, he said. Ivanov, at 62 the same age as Putin, was a career KGB who studied English in Ealing during the Cold War. He is wooden in his public appearances and lacks Putins common touch with ordinary Russians. 