Putin has a secret brood of children being raised in luxury comparable to Russian tsars, report claims

putin and Alina Kabaeva
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and his rumored girlfriend and retired rythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva (right).Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images
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  • Putin has several young children with his rumored girlfriend, Alina Kabaeva, Proekt reported.

  • He built a 13,000-square-foot mansion for them close to his main residence in Valdai, Proekt said.

  • The estate boasts a "huge spa complex" with cosmetology and dentistry areas, the report said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has a brood of secret young children with his rumored gymnast girlfriend, who are being raised in luxury similar to that of Russian tsars, according to the investigative Russian outlet Proekt.

The Russian strongman is rumored to have several children with his supposed girlfriend Alina Kabaeva, a former Olympic rhythmic gymnast who is 30 years younger than him, the report said.

It is unclear how many children the couple share exactly, though Proekt reported they are all under the age of 18. It has previously been reported that the couple has at least one daughter together. Some of the children were born in Switzerland, the outlet said.

The Russian leader, who is famously secretive about his personal life, built a sprawling 13,000-square-feet wooden mansion for Kabaeva and the children in 2020, which is located only half a mile from his main private "golden palace" residence in the town of Valdai, Proekt reported, citing anonymous sources and publicly available data.

Valdai is about halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg and is on the southwestern shores of one of Russia's largest lakes, Lake Valdayskoye.

The complex boasts a "huge spa complex with a solarium, a cryo-chamber, a 25-meter swimming pool, a hammam, a sauna, a mud room, massage baths, cosmetology and dentistry areas," Proekt reported.

Since its construction, a boat dock, and a large children's playground have also been built on the property. In the summers of 2021, and 2022, a small karting track was set also up for the children, the outlet said. The property also has a private and guarded railway station, which Putin and Kabaeva reportedly use to travel inconspicuously across the country.

An unnamed source familiar with the operation of the Valdai facility told Proekt that the estate is the children's main residence.

Putin's other children

Over the years, Putin has fought hard to keep his children, and rumored girlfriends, from the spotlight.

It has been reported that the Russian leader has two daughters from his first marriage to former flight attendant Lyudmila Shkrebneva, whom he divorced in 2013.

His daughters, Maria and Katerina, are married and have children of their own. Maria is a medical researcher, while Katerina is an accomplished acrobatic dancer and also works at the math research department at Moscow State University.

Other reports have addressed rumors that extramarital affairs may have produced other children, though details remain unclear.

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