RUSSIA / UKRAINE / CHECHNYA : Opponents Call Putin Murder Plot...An Election Ploy; Critics Ask Where Is Putin's Wife?

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-27/putin-assassination-plot-foiled-by-russian-ukrainian-agents.html
      After Sunday's successful White Ring Putin protest...the Kremlin suddenly revealed a foiled plot on the PM's life.

      State TV reported that 2 men were arrested earlier this year in Odessa...hired by Chechen rebels...to kill Putin...with landmines after the 4 March election.
     If true...it would be the 7th plot to kill Putin since 2000...all from Chechen or al-Qaeda operatives.
      His opponents in Moscow call the revelation...a ploy to gain sympathy for Putin...before Sunday's election.
      'This is part of a clear election campaign. It's to bring attention to Putin and to develop this idea that there's a threat everywhere. It's a spectacle,' said a protest leader.
     TO WATCH 1:05 Report:
http://www.euronews.net/2012/02/27/russia-foils-chechen-plot-to-kill-pm-putin

AND: Some are asking about the notable absence of Putin's wife...Lyudmila Putina...during the campaign.
      She was last seen...in October 2010. 
      Some even speculate...Lyudmila has been tucked away in a monastery.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/27/vladimir-putin-cloistered-wife-rumours