Online interest in Vladimir Putin dying surged in Russia after the Kremlin unleashed a series of air strikes on Ukraine on Monday, according to data from Google trends. Queries about when the Russian leader would finally bite the dust first grew as he turned 70 on Friday, and then skyrocketed on Monday evening after Putin boasted about his âhigh precisionâ strikes that left nearly two dozen civilians dead. The trend was first spotted by the independent investigative news outlet Verstka. The phrase âdeath of Putinâ hit peak popularity late Monday, tied only with the timeless slogan âPutin is a dickhead.â Those search terms were followed closely by âwhen will Putin dieâ and âwho will kill Putin.â