20 Surprising Facts About Vladimir Putin's Family

May 2024 · 17 minute read

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Vladimir Putin has been a member of the Russian ruling class because the daybreak of the century, serving each as President and Prime Minister of the country over the past 20 years. In that point, the former KGB Lieutenant Colonel has amassed a seemingly infinite fortune, an unparalleled amount of power, and the fear of people all around the international. But unlike many different rulers around the globe, who've had their lives and households obsessed over by other folks all over the world, Putin and the folk he has put into energy have executed the whole thing that they can possibly do to take a look at and stay his family away from the prying eyes of other people all around the world. It’s abnormal, especially in comparison to how western culture tends to position such a lot focal point on the family individuals of the ruling elegance.

Putin has accomplished everything he can to stay them hidden from the general public eye, even threatening information corporations that have reported on them. But nonetheless, the entire over the top strategies they’ve long gone via haven’t been in a position to stop any information from leaking about them. Some of it's scary, seeing as how simply Putin can appear to have one thing hushed up by means of paying unknown resources. Others are revealing, showing some other side of probably the most powerful family in Russia that we’ve never seen sooner than. Even a few are just fascinatingly weird and introduce us to a part of their lives that we can have by no means expected. Here are 20 of the strangest and surprising facts about Vladimir Putin’s family.

Putin Doesn't Like Questions About His Family

by way of: Newsweek

When you’re in the political and public sphere, it’s common for folks to wonder about your households. Just look at the Royal Family in Britain, or even the youngsters of multiple American Presidents, to see how a lot the rest of the culture desires to push the family members of leaders within the limelight. But Putin does no longer like that idea at all. Seriously, in any respect. 

According to Newsweek, Putin has replied to questions from stories about his family with distaste.

He said all through a press interview that “I am, after all, conscious about the cliché that politicians live in glass properties,” Putin said, “however even in those instances, there should be some limits... I at all times disliked people who cross round with their erotic fantasies, sticking their snot-ridden noses into someone else’s life.”

His Family Has Been Hidden From The Press

by way of: Newsweek

Over the years, Putin and his other folks have long gone all out in their attempts to keep them away from the click. Unlike others global leaders, Putin doesn’t give any real standpoint on his personal lifestyles. There’s privateness, and then there’s what Putin has achieved. It takes secretive to an entire new stage, in keeping with Whimn

Any social media posts about his family individuals disappear, as do any tales about them in the Russian media. The press has never gotten a excellent, blank shot of them at any level in their lives.

Beyond the handful of officially released pictures, next to nothing exists on his family. Putin can’t stop each and every story, however he makes a clear and concentrated effort to get as many as he can.

A Documentary Filmmaker Spent Hundreds of Hours With Putin But Never Met His Family

by means of: Napalete

To the uninformed, Putin may just seem like a private person, however right here’s a tale from Newsweek that illustrates simply how little publicity he’s ever allowed his family to have. In 2010 and 2011, German documentary filmmaker, Hubert Seipel, used to be given more access to Putin than any member of the Russian press had ever been. Seipel spent the 2 years working on the award-winning documentary, Ich, Putin.

To get the fabric for the movie, Seipel spent an excessive amount of time with Putin. Reports suggest that the 2 spent literally masses of hours in combination in Moscow, however Seipel didn’t see a unmarried one in every of his kinfolk even once.

It was part of the settlement that produced the documentary, but it surely’s simply extraordinary to suppose that he wouldn’t let his youngsters be observed by way of the filmmaker, let alone be within the documentary about him.

Reporters That Talk About Putin's Family Face Serious Consequences

by means of: Wikipedia

One of the scariest issues about dwelling in Putin’s Russia is the concern of what occurs to you in case you attempt to discover the reality and talk out. Many journalists within the nation have been scared into silence or been threatened with violence. Some have even disappeared altogether. And it’s not love it’s only a shadowy cabal working in the back of the scenes that do this stuff. According to Newsweek and Vice, other people inside of Putin’s celebration have threatened whole newspapers that record on Putin’s family. This has come through professional channels, like when News Times suffered server outages and the online watchdog group, Roskomandzor (it is their image within the picture above), issued a wonderful on a tale that in a while adopted.  There have been reports of participants of the Russian executive calling news outlet homeowners, implicitly threatening them, leading to the owners having to briefly shut up store.

A YouTuber Has Been The Best Reporter On His Family Life

by the use of: OnDMC

Surprisingly enough, one of the most greatest voices to if truth be told examine these secrets and techniques is a YouTube persona from Russia.

As detailed by way of Time, Alexei Navalny has made it his venture to analyze any sign or source of Putin’s huge wealth and has been researching one of the crucial purchases that Putin has made for him and his family.

This guy has been arrested for his function in being part of the resistance to Putin’s whole regulate of the country (being a number one voice of dissent within the country while additionally serving to organize protests tends to not endear oneself to the folks in energy), and even he hasn’t been ready to seek out any real hint of it. But his analysis has helped lead us to more information about Putin. And the extra we have now, the simpler.

He Had A Relationship With An Olympic Athlete

by way of: Youtube

The President of Russia had a secret dating with an Olympic gold medalist who was once lower than part his age. As Whimn explains, Alina Kabaeva is a gold medalist rhythmic gymnast who turned into connected with Putin in 2008. While he was once nonetheless married, Putin and Kabaeva take to each other and started a courting. This become an open secret in Russia, main, partly, to Putin’s eventual divorce from his first spouse, Lyudmila Shkrebneva. Since then, Kabaeva has been informally addressed as the First Mistress of Russia and has denied rumors that a boy she’s been seen with is the result of their courting. There’s by no means been any confirmation about her dating status with Putin, even ten years when they first was an merchandise.

He Has A Secret Family With Her

by way of: IBTimes

So, bear in mind how that roughly were given slipped into the last access? Yeah! So, as reported via Newsweek, Putin spent a part of the spring of 2015 rather got rid of from the highlight. Despite denials from the Kremlin, avid newshounds neglected the risk of angering Putin and investigated experiences from Switzerland. According to those stories, Putin and Kabaeva had arrived within the Alps for the birth of their secret kid. This used to be followed by means of the primary public look of Kabaeva two months later, and sporadic sightings since them. Of observe is the engagement ring she wore on her hand throughout a sports activities tournament within the Georgian region of South Ossetia in November of 2016. It’s like a fairytale romance, complete with the loopy large empire round them.

They’re Way Older Than You’d Expect

via: Vice

For Putin’s family to had been so well-hidden, especially in the age of social media, is slightly exceptional. And it’d be easy to suppose that it used to be because of them being more youthful, so it would be more uncomplicated to keep out of the limelight.

Both of his daughters are a lot older than you’d expect from the extent of silence that surrounds them. As reported through Whimn, we’re now not even precisely positive how old they are for sure (even supposing, it’s concept that they had been born in 1985 and 1986, respectively), and feature been enjoying essential roles in schooling for years.

They even have their very own families, although, a few of them also are related to contributors of Putin’s internal circle, which simply makes all of this even more alarming.

They Go To Church Just For Show

by means of: Flavor Wire

It’s not just the young and indignant that to find Putin and his family’s opulence and standing to be contradictory with the residing prerequisites of the remainder of the rustic. While he and his family are afforded security and, in some instances, even luxury, the individuals who are living in his nation were dealing with a declining state of affairs for years. While the disenfranchised early life of Russia are probably the most vocal about this disconnect, even the Church has been noticing the hypocrisy. During an interview with Time, Father Panteleimon, a clergyman at the Russian Orthodox Church in Biarritz, claimed that while Putin owned land in the area, he had by no means come to the church to pray or help the needy. “Let God be the pass judgement on… But to me, what they do here simply doesn’t glance excellent. They just come right here to revel in themselves.”

His Ex-Wife Might Have Secretly Gotten Remarried

by the use of: Washington Post

Even regardless that she used to be now not technically a part of Putin’s family anymore doesn’t imply his first spouse were given to escape the apparently endless quantity of security and secrets and techniques. Lyudmila has been divorced from Putin since 2013, but hasn’t been observed any more or lower than she was once before. So, you realize, principally on no account. As explained by way of Newsweek, social media posts and the native mag, Sobesednik, each indicate that Lyudmila had gotten remarried to a man named Arthur Ochertniy. The report was additionally carried by means of NTV, a state-run TV network. But that tale was once unnoticed of each and every following information report and has been hushed up since, with a lot of those social media posts later being deleted.

We Don’t Even Know Their Names For Sure

by the use of: IBTimes

Seriously! That’s how secretive this entire side of things is for Russians. Ever since their childhoods, Putin’s two daughters have by no means even been formally or publicly noticed. Even photos of who we expect are his daughters have come beneath scrutiny, as we will’t outright confirm that it’s them. As pointed out through Whimn, there’s even some serious debate over whether or now not we in fact have their names right within the first position. Although we’re beautiful assured that the more youthful daughter is known as Katerina, there’s been some debate over the actual identify of the eldest daughter. While many suppose it’s Maria, there’s been some speculation that her actual title is Mariya. Just evaluate that privateness to America, the place seemingly everyone has a Twitter, Instagram, and eight other platforms that you'll in finding data about them on.

Masha Had Friends That Her Dad Wasn’t A Fan Of

via: New York Post

Mariya (or Maria, we will’t ensure) does even have a known nickname, Masha. And by means of all accounts, Masha if truth be told had some real a laugh when she was younger. She picked up a bunch of friends over the years, some who Putin was most likely pretty annoyed to hear about. According to Whimn, Masha had more than a few pals that afflicted the famously homophobic Putin on a fundamental stage. Putin has been a troublesome opponent of homosexual rights in Russia right through his complete political profession, so it wouldn’t be surprising to listen to he was once stricken via his daughter turning into friends with folks like a gay fitness knowledgeable, and a lesbian artist. Masha was reputedly somewhat extra of a folks individual than the remainder of the family, reportedly making friends more uncomplicated than her father or sister.

A Mayor In The Netherlands Called For Masha’s Deportation

by means of: Daily Beast

According to Newsweek, a the town in the Netherlands that used to be serving as her getaway may have modified their minds about her and the choice of journalists her presence it sounds as if brought. Masha reportedly married a Dutch man, and was spending time in his local Netherlands when this was once discovered by way of the clicking. People descended upon the small the town she used to be reported to be in, but no person was ready to find her and even discuss to any individual who in reality knew her. This, in turn, resulted in Pieter Broertjes, the mayor of Hilversum, to call for the deportation of Masha from the Netherlands. While he would in the end retract that commentary, it’s a sign of simply how badly other folks need to know extra about these two ladies, and the way it can impact unconnected other people surrounding it.

Masha Was Kinda Living Large For A Bit

via: Occrp

Yeah, it appears Masha was additionally ready to in truth live pretty big all over her time in college and as a tender adult. Masha attended Moscow University as a medical scholar and partied identical to every different school student.

Most different school students don’t get to go anywhere as extravagant as Masha used to be it seems that in a position to. According to Whimn, Masha was a little of a party woman, even doing away with some mega-yachts for cruising along her Dutch paramour.

It’s right here that she made the friends that will annoy her father, and gave her a style of the outdoor global that her father reputedly doesn’t percentage. It’s simply odd that the majority footage and records of this had been saved beneath wraps, even within the age of virtual oversharing that we discover ourselves in now.

Katerina Is A Respected Dancer

via: The Cut

Katerina has led a unique life than her sister and almost definitely has probably the most public publicity of the 2 in probably the most sudden manner possible. Katerina has if truth be told appeared in public, in line with Whimn, usually within the form of her rock ‘n roll dance aerobics routine. Katerina participated within the 2013 Boogie Woogie dance pageant, and no, we’re now not making any of that up. Performing under the surname, Tikhonova (her maternal grandmother’s surname), Katerina ended up successful fifth in the competition. A video of her dance has even managed to floor on YouTube. It’s never been officially showed that this is the Katerina in the dance, but it surely’s an open secret in Russia that she is, if truth be told, the Boogie Woogie dancer in that video.

Katerina Had Bodyguards Following Her Everywhere As A Teen

by means of: The Telegraph

Katerina seems to have had a harder time adjusting to lifestyles, according to this Time article. Interviewing a former classmate, the tale paints a picture of a quiet and sensible younger lady who was relatively separated from her peers.

She attended a prestigious German faculty in Moscow, however never really are compatible in with the opposite scholars on the academy. This is a minimum of moderately blamed on the bodyguards that followed her in all places, even to parties.

While Masha were ready to fly extra under the radar with people and even stay more or less low-key about her identification while in class, Katerina stood out the second one she walked into the construction. She ended up marrying the son of a family pal, instead of branching further out into the arena like her sister did.

Katerina Might Have Gotten A Nice Job Under False Pretenses

by the use of: The Guardian

According to Newsweek, Katerina might have even used her popularity to get herself a nice task at the distinguished, Moscow University. The discovery was made by means of bloggers, Alexei Navalny and Oleg Kashin. Kashin came upon the information and launched it after a record came from Russian news after it was once announced that Katerina could be collaborating in a diffusion to the college.

There has been speculation that she received this position on account of her family title, and not through any explicit set of abilities or knowledge.

The Kremlin has denied those accusations, Putin’s spokesman Peskov even pronouncing he did not know who Katerina Tikhonova was once throughout an interview. But given how little the Kremlin has ever confirmed about Putin and his family, that’s not a surprising reaction.

He Has A French Hideaway For His Family

by means of: Time

When most of us believe Vladimir Putin, we don’t have a tendency to ascertain a sleepy the city within the French geographical region. But that would possibly in fact be the private favourite hideaway for Putin and his family. Time has reported about whatever financial news we will be able to be informed about Putin, and one of the crucial revealing is the homes that he owns in the French the town of Biarritz. Close to the wine nation in neighboring Spain, the town has been an established favourite vacation spot for the Russian ruling magnificence, and Putin isn't any exception. The town holds a unique place in Putin’s heart, as it’s where he discovered that he would be assuming keep watch over of Russia in 1999. The the city is respectful of his privateness as well, despite the more than a few calls and reporters who've come looking for information on Putin.

We Just Found Out He Was A Grandpa Last Year

by the use of: WikiMedia

It’s all the time surprising to be informed simply how little we know about the Russian chief. Take as an example the casual bombshell that was dropped during an interview. As reported by way of Time, Putin only printed the existence of his own grandchildren this last 12 months.

Over the process the four-hour documentary, The Putin Interviews, with Oliver Stone, Putin used to be asked whether or now not he likes his grandchildren. He stated he did, but that he doesn’t have much time to play with them.

And that’s it. That’s one of the most candid he has ever been about his family, and it was once a single sentence that casually instructed the world that he was once a grandfather. The guy is a stone wall, not even speaking about his grandkids will get him to lighten up.

They Are Actually Billionaires

via: Fortune

It’s the thing that truly makes Putin probably the most tough males on the planet. It’s not simply that he controls Russia with the kind of authority that allows you to basically rig an election and nonetheless name it democratic or the way in which his political opponents and critics turns out to disappear. It’s the wealth he’s amassed, and just how secretive he’s been about.

As reported by way of Time, reporters have devoted years to seeking to observe down no matter leads they are able to about his budget, they usually haven’t been able to find anything. And with Katerina being formerly married to a billionaire banking associate of Putin’s, that power wouldn’t disappear if he left place of business.

It’s why his dedication to secrecy and privateness, even at the expense of his family’s happiness and well-being, is so horrifying. He’s possibly the richest man on this planet— and we all know nothing about him. And we’ve learn sufficient comedian books to understand that’s never a good thing.

References: Newsweek.com, Time.com, Newsweek.com, Whimn.com.au, Vice.com, Youtube.com

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