Rumours are circulating that Vladimir Putin has died, and that his corpse is being stored in a freezer in his luxurious woodland palace.

The General SVR Telegram Channel, supposedly led by a Kremlin insider, claimed the Russian President had succumbed to a number of health issues last month. A heart attack was said to have been the final blow, with a body double now filling in for the despot.

The channel continues to state that Putin is dead despite the Kremlin refuting the claims. A Telegram post earlier this week said the body was "in the freezer at his residence in Valdai".

READ MORE: Putin's doctors freed from 'corpse-sitting' duties as leader's death now 'state secret'

For the latest updates and rumours surrounding Vladimir Putin, click here.

Earlier this year an investigation from Russian opposition media outlet Proekt shed light on the sprawling forest getaway in Valdai National Park, located between St Petersburg and Moscow.

It was reported that Putin lived there with rumoured mistress Alina Kabaeva, an Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast, as their children. The national park was actually closed off to visitors following Proekt's report, with authorities claiming this was due to a "worsening ecological condition".

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It was said the estate consists of a "golden" mansion and other large homes with a number of luxuries. Proekt reported: "Located about the same distance from Putin and Kabaeva's houses is a huge spa complex with a solarium, a cryo chamber, a 25-metre swimming pool, a hammam, a sauna, a mud room, massage baths, cosmetology and dentistry areas."

There is also apparently a go karting track and a large children's playground. Officers from Russia's FSB security service guard the residence's perimeter.

Proekt also published images purporting to show the inside of the main mansion. Satellite images laid bare the true scale of the home, with a private train station nearby. The General SVR channel said at the time of the leaks that nobody had ever seen Putin so furious.

The channel continues to report that a body double is conducting presidential duties while Putin's body lies at Valdai. It stated that there are now discussions within the Kremlin inner circle over how to proceed ahead of Russia's presidential elections in March next year.

A post from Friday (November 10) states: "The figure of the double remains in the Russian political system at least until the New Year. By the end of December, a final decision on his future fate will be made. The majority… believe that the double should go to the polls and the system should be covered up by the presidency of 'Putin', no matter how great the risks of exposure."

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