He is the warlord, the authoritarian and much feared master of the Kremlin, indestructible since 1999. And re-elected as head of Russia on March 17, with 87.29% of the votes. But Vladimir Putin is not just that. Like everyone, he has a love life, punctuated by several stories. Some last longer than others. In detail, it is difficult to unravel the mystery surrounding the romantic relationships of the Russian president, now 71 years old. We know almost nothing about his private life. Or at least only what he let filter out. Because Vladimir Putin believes that the personal blurs the political. Philosophy that he takes from his past as a former KGB agent.
However, his marriage in 1983 to Lyoudmila Chkrebneva is known. With this young flight attendant, met a year earlier, the intelligence agent has two close daughters: Maria, born in 1985, and Ekaterina, the following year. But even when he ascended to the highest office - President of the Russian Federation - on December 31, 1999, Putin compartmentalized everything. No need for a first lady, his wife will remain in the shadows until their divorce in 2013.
“The only and rare time when Putin opened the doors to his personal life was at the end of 1999-beginning of 2000 so that people could get to know him, because he wanted to get elected. He was still only an obscure secret agent,” analyzes Céline Nony, senior reporter at
L’Équipe,
who investigated the love affairs of Vladimir Putin. “But ultimately, during the first years of his “reign”, his wife did very little traveling. In a certain way, Putin wanted, by coming to power, to make Russia great again. And for this there was obviously no question of referring to his predecessors Boris Yeltsin or Mikhail Gorbachev, the only Russian leaders to have exposed their wives.
Lioudmila and Vladimir Putin visited the village of Saint-Emilion on February 12, 2003, during their official trip to France. PATRICK BERNARD / AFP
Illegitimate children and mistresses
After his divorce, Vladimir Putin is officially single. But very quickly, he was credited with conquests, some of which lasted for a long time. This is the case of an affair with a certain Svetlana Krivonogikh, whose name leaked to the Russian press in 2003. In the 1990s, she still financed her studies in Saint Petersburg by cleaning when she formed a relationship. in love with the future president, according to information from the Russian investigative site
Proekt
, cited by
Le
Monde
and denied by the Kremlin. In 2001, barely a year after graduating – and after Putin's arrival in the Kremlin – she suddenly found herself holding the equivalent of several million euros of shares in Rossia Bank. But that's not all: the young woman also owns real estate in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Monaco, as well as a yacht and the Igora ski area in Russia.
“There have always been rumors about the fact that Vladimir Putin has mistresses,” notes Céline Nony. However, in the case of Svetlana Krivonogikh, the fact that this student who had to do housework to pay for her studies became a millionaire overnight raises questions.” This fate raises all the more questions since, according to the Pandora Papers, published in 2021, the rich heritage of Svetlana Krivonogikh would have blossomed a few weeks after the birth of her daughter Elizaveta, whose paternity is attributed to Putin. “His daughter's surname is Vladimirovna (
meaning in Russian “daughter of Vladimir”, Editor's note
), which would clearly demonstrate the connection with Vladimir Putin, even if we cannot formally assure it” notes Céline Nony. Today, this “illegitimate girl”, aged 21 and whose resemblance to Putin is obvious, has become “a fairly well-known DJ” in Russia.
Kabaeva, the favorite
But the female name most associated with Putin certainly remains that of Alina Kabaeva, national pride and Olympic champion in GRS (rhythmic sports gymnastics). As early as 2008, it was whispered that the president was having an affair with the gymnast, 31 years his junior. Those concerned deny this. Remember that at the time, Vladimir Putin was still married to Lyoudmila Shkrebneva. But presumably, their story is very real. Never confirmed, it would still be relevant today. “It is impossible to speak with certainty about this couple, because officially, they do not exist,” comments Céline Nony, herself a former gymnast, who met Alina Kabaeva several times in the 2000s and conducted an investigation on her. precise and in-depth,
Alina
,
Putin's secret love,
published in 2023 (1). “Since the rumors started by the Russian weekly
Moskovski Korrespondent
in 2008 – a newspaper which closed its doors just after these revelations – no one has obtained any photos of the two together. However, in Russia, this relationship has become an open secret. Everyone knows but no one talks about it.”
Alina Kabayeva (right) and Svetlana Khorkina (left) greet Vladimir Putin. (Moscow, March 10, 2004.) SERGEI CHIRIKOV / AFP
If Vladimir Putin has never made his relationship with Alina Kabaeva official, the clues do not lie. First, the former gifted kid from GRS experienced an unprecedented political rise, becoming a deputy in the Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, in 2007, even if her seat remained empty. Another proof: a triplex in Sochi offered to Anna Zatsepilina, Alina Kabaeva's grandmother, by Yuri Kovaltchouk, friend of the Russian president, "since Putin never touches the wallet directly" specifies Céline Nony.
Also read: Alina Kabaeva, Vladimir Putin's secret love for fifteen years
The Russian president also had a huge complex built for the ex-athlete, near Lake Valdai, between Moscow and Saint Petersburg, in which she would spend a lot of time. Even more so since the war in Ukraine, which prevents her from going to Switzerland, where she used to be. “We could even see on satellite images a playground for the children that Kabaeva would have had with Putin. However, we still don’t know how many they had together,” explains Céline Nony. Alina Kabaeva would be particularly dear to Vladimir Putin. “No other of his so-called mistresses has had the right to so many favors. We have no certainty on the subject, but it is said that Kabaeva would occupy a special place because she gave Putin an heir, a boy.”
Alina Kabaeva. (Turin, June 6, 2008.) GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP
So why not make it official? “To make Russia great again, Putin joined forces with the Orthodox Church. Bringing a woman 30 years his junior into his life living in luxury, while having illegitimate children, does not fit into the framework,” explains Céline Nony.
Mizoulina, the new lucky lady?
In February, the British and American tabloid press, citing Ukrainian media and independent Russian Telegram channels, nevertheless claimed that Vladimir Putin was having a secret affair with Ekaterina Mizulina, the 39-year-old chief censor of the Russian Internet (one year less than Alina Kabaeva). According to the Telegram channel Kremlevskaya Tabakerka, the head of the Kremlin and this “guardian of morality” have “become closer recently”. Reality or pure speculation? The mystery remains. Nevertheless, “it is interesting to draw the parallel between Mizoulina and Kabaeva, who both accessed key propaganda positions,” notes Céline Nony. Indeed, the first is at the head of the Russian League for a Safe Internet; the second, for her part, is director of the media group National Media Group (NMG), a television holding company, even if her only public outings always remain linked to gymnastics.
Ekatarina Mizulina. Screenshot Instagram / @ekaterina_mizulina
“What is also interesting,” adds the reporter from
L’Équipe
, “is that the arrival of these so-called mistresses on the scene restores the image of Putin, who is regularly attributed with serious illnesses. He is sometimes said to be on the verge of death, or even announced dead.” Coincidence or not, it was just after the latest round of rumors regarding his health that his supposed relationship with Mizoulina was exposed. “Basically, in Putin's symbolism, having a romantic relationship is the embodiment of the alpha male. He was said to have one foot in the grave; he finally proves that he keeps a little sap.”
(1) Alina
, by Céline Nony, 256p., €19.90, Éditions Arthaud