Putin's Hidden Son? "5 and 9-Year-Old Brothers with Girlfriend Former Gymnast"

Putin holding a press conference in Kazakhstan. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 4th (local time), the British daily The Times reported, citing a local investigative group, that Russian President Vladimir Putin has two sons with his gymnast-turned-partner.

According to the report, the investigative group "Dossier Center," operated by Russian opposition figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky, alleged that President Putin has two sons with former Russian rhythmic gymnastics national team member Alina Kabaeva. The Dossier Center stated that the two sons live in the presidential residence under strict security without outside contact.

The report said the elder son, Ivan, is 9 years old, and the younger son, Vladimir Jr., is 5 years old. It also mentioned that they spend most of their time at their father's massive estate near Lake Valdai, northwest of Moscow.

The report is said to have been prepared with the help of an employee hired by the Putin family. It contains detailed information about the daily lives of the Putin brothers.

It states that the brothers live surrounded by private tutors, nannies, and security officers without interaction with peers. They drink only from personalized mugs like their father, have lunch around noon, take naps, and engage in lessons and sports activities.

The report said, "They mostly have to play without others or only with adults," and "They only see their parents at night."

Ivan was born in the spring of 2015 in Lugano, Switzerland, and Vladimir Jr. was born in the spring of 2019 in Moscow, but their exact birthdays are known only to the family, the report said. The names of the two sons cannot be found in official Russian birth records, and they are said to conceal their identities with "cover documents" provided by programs that protect spies or witnesses.

President Putin is known to have two daughters with his ex-wife Lyudmila. He has said that his daughters work in the fields of science and education and that he has grandchildren. However, he has never confirmed their names or publicly acknowledged them as his biological daughters. The elder daughter, Maria Vorontsova (39), and the younger daughter, Katerina Tikhonova (37), rarely appeared in public but drew attention when they spoke at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) held last June.