Vladimir Putin has two daughters from his marriage. His lover, Alina Kabaeva, later gave him two sons. Details of her life became known for the first time.
“Hurrah! Finally a boy!” – Putin is said to have been overjoyed when he became a father for the third time in the spring of 2015. Ivan was the first child the Russian president had with his girlfriend Alina Kabaeva. Four years later, in 2019, Kabaeva reportedly gave birth to Vladimir Jr.
There has long been speculation about the Kremlin ruler’s love for the former Olympic gymnast Kabaeva, but truly confirmed facts about Putin’s private life rarely come to the public. Now an employee of the family has revealed himself to the Kremlin-critical investigative website “Dossier Center”. He looked after the children in Putin’s remote residence in Valdai. The Dossier Center says it has received dozens of photos of the children, but does not want to publish them. According to the employee, Ivan and Vladimir Jr. are looked after by a whole team of nannies, governesses and sports coaches.
30 years age difference
Since around 2008, there have been rumors about Putin’s relationship with Kabaeva, now 41. They appeared together at official events and both were obviously fond of each other. In 2008, Putin’s wife Lyudmila Putina is also said to have divorced. They only announced their separation in 2013. From a comment made by Putin at the time, it could be concluded that his ex-wife had probably started a new relationship. Lyudmila Putina said: “Our marriage is over because we hardly see each other anymore. Vladimir Vladimirovich is completely absorbed in his work. Our children are grown up. They live their own lives. In general, it turns out that each of us has our own life.”
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As early as May 2022, the “Sonntagszeitung” reported that a Swiss gynecologist of Russian origin had looked after the Olympic champion during her pregnancies. The “Dossier Center” has now confirmed that the Russian-born Swiss doctor Natalia Thiebaud is said to have accompanied the pregnancies. Thiebaud is said to enjoy Putin’s personal trust. Ivan Putin was born in the Sant’Anna maternity clinic in Lugano in southern Switzerland. The younger son was born in Moscow.
Vladimir Putin keeps the family secret
Putin’s secrecy about his second family is typical of the former KGB man. Previously, hardly any details about the lives of his two daughters from his marriage to his wife Lyudmila had been made public. To this day, he only refers to his daughters in public as “these women”. And this despite the fact that it is now known that they are the 39-year-old doctor Maria Vorontsova and the 38-year-old business manager Katerina Tikhonova.
Putin’s visits
Ivan and Vladimir Jr. even have a “cover mother” – a cousin of Alina Kabaeva. The two boys are said to live very isolated lives, surrounded only by their entourage. Two anti-aircraft systems are said to protect the property.
The children travel with special agent IDs and use planes and vehicles belonging to an oligarch close to Putin. What is less fitting is that the positions are advertised on a website through an agency. Putin and Kabaeva apparently have a high turnover of employees. Despite the tempting pay, the employees cannot endure life in isolation and the security regime for long. To ensure that the boys do not grow up exclusively with adults, the children of Kabaeva’s friends occasionally come to the residence, who then also live in quarantine for two weeks. The highlights are said to be Putin’s visits. “No activities or games can compare to the evenings when the children are with their father. This is a special time, and the older son always shares his joy with the people around him,” writes the “Dossier Center”.
No born successors
It is typical of Putin’s system of rule to put relatives in key positions. Godparenthood and marriages of children also strengthen the ties of the ruling group. The young are still too young for such ambitions. But power in the Kremlin is unlikely to be inherited. Putin’s daughters have not yet been placed in any successor positions either.
“These are not successors in the making,” says Mark Galeotti, an expert on Russian politics and security for the London Times. The fact that Ivan and Vladimir Jr. “are growing up in a secure bubble is hardly unusual for the offspring of tyrants.”
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Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
