In Russia she is described as the “most mysterious woman” in the country: Alina Kabaeva. She has been at Vladimir Putin’s side for 20 years. Even if there was never an official confirmation – the facts speak for themselves.
Koschei the Immortal is the name of the greatest villain in Russian folklore. He’s guarding a big secret: his soul is stuck in a needle. This is hidden in an egg. The egg is hidden in a duck. The duck in a rabbit. The rabbit is sitting in an iron box. The box is buried under an oak tree on an island far out to sea. Why the effort? If the needle breaks, Koschei dies.
Vladimir Putin seems to have taken the legendary figure as a role model in more ways than one. The Kremlin boss guards countless secrets. One of them is called Alina Kabaeva. is she his lover Or already wife? The former gymnast has been his First Lady for years. In 2008, the Moscow newspaper “Moskovski Korrespondent” reported on the connection for the first time. “The wedding is to take place on June 15,” wrote the newspaper. Two days after the reports appeared, the newspaper was pulped. For financial reasons, the owner and publisher Alexander Lebedev claimed.
When the government-critical oligarch announced the cessation, the Kremlin issued a denial at the same time. Kabaeva’s name disappeared from state media reports. An instruction “from above”, confirmed the editors at the time.
In 2012, media mogul Lebedev withdrew from business in Russia. He said he was facing threats and blackmail from the domestic intelligence agency that he could no longer withstand. While the billionaire has long been forgotten in Russia, Kabaeva is not.
The relationship between the President and the athlete has become that hidden needle of Koschei the Immortal. Everyone knows they exist, but no one has seen them. It is not surprising, however, for a man who speaks of “two women” when talking about his own daughters.
The beginning of the story
The romance between Putin and Kabaeva began more than 20 years ago. On December 1, 2001, the two first appeared in public at an official event.
At this time, the 18-year-old Kabaeva is a world star in sports gymnastics. She can hang more than ten gold medals around her dainty neck: European champion, world champion and winner of Olympic bronze. At the World Championships in Madrid that year, she again won gold several times. But a little later it becomes known: Kabaeva has doped. The weight-loss drug diuretic is found in her sample. She will be banned for a year. She loses her medals from Madrid. Her trainer speaks of a “war against Russian sport”.
Putin is a fresh face on the world stage at this point, less than two years into the presidency. At a sports show hosted by her trainer, Putin takes a seat next to Kabaeva. A few days later, the newspaper Komsomplskja Pravda ran the headline “The President and the Amazon”.
By the end of the year, 18-year-old Kabaeva will be made a member of the Supreme Council of United Russia, Putin’s party. Less than a month after their meeting. From that moment on, the sportswoman’s political career took a steep course. In 2005, Putin appointed her a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. In 2007 she was promoted to deputy in the Russian State Duma for “United Russia” and became deputy chairwoman of the State Duma Committee on Youth Issues.
“Director of the Board of Directors”
During this period, Kabaeva is distinguished by nothing but a few signatures under controversial laws and a glittering absence. Nonetheless, in 2008 she becomes Chair of the Public Council of the National Media Group (NMG). At the time, the media group was one of the largest private media holdings in Russia. The media empire includes the channels Ren TV, Channel 5 and the newspaper Izvestia. In addition, NMG owns 25 percent of the shares of “First Channel”, the largest Russian channel, and 49 percent of the media group “News Media”.
Finally, in 2014, Kabaeva gave up her seat in the Duma to take over the chairmanship of the board of directors of the NMG. However, the media empire is run by close friends of Putin, the billionaire brothers and businessmen Kovalchuk. Nobody knows what Kabaeva is doing there as “director of the board of directors.” But apparently she’s doing so well that the Russian oligarchs and friends of Putin are gifting her grandmother and sister with luxury homes in return.
Friends of Putin and their gifts
Billionaire Grigory Baevsky signed a 228-square-meter apartment in Moscow in the name of Kabaeva’s sister. This is according to official real estate registers. Baevsky is also known as “Putin’s broker”. He is said to have taken care of real estate for his daughters, among other things.
In 2013, Baevsky also gave gifts to Kabaeva’s grandmother. This time, he gave the 81-year-old woman a 3,000-square-meter plot of land and two houses in one of Moscow’s most upscale areas. From here, it takes 15 minutes to get to Putin’s Novo-Ogaryovo residence, where he spends most of his time.
Putin’s friend Pjotr Kolbin also presented the elderly lady with real estate. In 2015 he gave her two luxury apartments in the center of Moscow with a total area of 600 square meters. Four days later, another friend of Putin prepared a gift for her. Gennady Timchenko gave Kabaeva’s grandmother a luxurious apartment on a picturesque canal in the middle of Saint Petersberg.
Kabaeva’s mother did not go away empty-handed either. She is the proud tenant of a chalet in Sochi. Your neighbors are Dmitry Medvedev and Gazprom directors. She was also given luxury apartments in Moscow by Gazprom.
Alina Kabaeva shows up in Moscow
Despite all the luxury real estate, Kabaeva is said to prefer Switzerland to her homeland. According to media reports, she was also in Ticino, Switzerland, at the beginning of the war in Ukraine. She is said to have four children with Putin, including twins who are said to have been born in Switzerland. She too should have Swiss citizenship.
Apparently Kabaeva doesn’t want to sit out the war in Switzerland. Now she has emerged in Moscow and was spotted rehearsing her charity event ‘Alina Festival’, taking place this Saturday at the VTB Arena. Parts of the event are to be broadcast on Russian television before May 9th.
Ekaterina Sirotina, head coach of Russia’s junior national rhythmic gymnastics team, posted on Instagram pictures of 38-year-old Alina Kabaeva rehearsing for the sporting event.
<x-embed class=”js-embed embed u-typo u-typo–article-text” consent=”pending” privacy-link=”https://www.stern.de/datenschutzbestimmungen-4541848.html” privacy-settings-link=”https://www.stern.de/politik/ausland/javascript:window._sp_.loadPrivacyManagerModal(237312)” srcdoc=’
‘ vendor-id=”5e717c8e69966540e4554f05″ vendor-name=”Instagram”>
<x-embed class=”js-embed embed u-typo u-typo–article-text” consent=”pending” privacy-link=”https://www.stern.de/datenschutzbestimmungen-4541848.html” privacy-settings-link=”https://www.stern.de/politik/ausland/javascript:window._sp_.loadPrivacyManagerModal(237312)” srcdoc=’
‘ vendor-id=”5e71760b69966540e4554f01″ vendor-name=”Twitter”>
Her changed appearance is now causing speculation. She probably has the same plastic surgeon as Vladimir Putin, the Russian “Cosmopolitan” scoffs. It may be that the war of her chosen one also leaves traces on her face.
Source: Stern
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
