November 15th 2023.
Alina Kabaeva, the Olympic gold medalist long rumoured to be Vladimir Putin’s mistress, hasn’t been seen for weeks. The last time she was seen was at her elite gymnastics school in Sochi, a Russian city on the Black Sea, on October 22. This has led to speculation due to a sketchy Telegram blog claiming the Russian president had died of a cardiac arrest, a claim the Kremlin furiously denied.
Rumours that Alina Kabaeva and Vladimir Putin are romantically involved have been spreading for years. Kabaeva was filmed cutting a cake at the end of the international Games of Countries tournament which took place at her Sky Grace gymnastics academy from October 19-22. She also wrote a blog post on the Sky Grace website on October 25, and a video was posted on its Telegram the following day showing her coaching a student. Her last blog post was published on October 28 and an interview with her was aired by the Russian sports channel Match TV last Friday.
Before they divorced in 2014, Putin had been married to Lyudmila Putin since July 1983 — two months before Kabaeva was born. Despite efforts by the president to keep his private life firmly behind Kremlin doors, Putin was forced to deny he was involved with Kabaeva as early as 2008. The paper, Moskovsky Korrespondent, closed shortly after due to ‘financial reasons’.
General SVR, often the source of wild rumours about Putin’s health, has claimed for weeks the leader is dead. In a post yesterday, the account said senior Russian officials have been told ‘Putin’s corpse is currently being stored incorrectly’ and will soon be frozen in his forest getaway by Lake Valdai. It added, ‘In general, as they joke around Patrushev, Russian President Vladimir Putin will soon have a “housewarming party”.’
Kabaeva is a member of the Russian Duma and won gold in rhythmic gymnastics. She’s even believed to be the mother of Putin’s youngest two or three children. Although Kabaeva has all but vanished from the public eye for weeks at a time before, as she did not long after being sanctioned by the US, it remains to be seen whether this is just another one of her disappearing acts or if there is another reason behind her sudden absence.
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