Putin’s two secret sons with gymnast lover are revealed

Vladimir Putin has two young sons who are hidden from the world at a heavily guarded presidential residence and rarely interact with other children, a Russian investigative journalism website has said.

Their mother is Alina Kabaeva, the former Olympic rhythmic gymnast whose relationship with Putin has been an open secret in Russia for more than a decade, the Dossier Centre said.

Ivan, nine, and Vladimir Jr, five, spend most of the year at their father’s vast mansion near Lake Valdai, northwest of Moscow, where they are surrounded by governesses, nannies, teachers and officers from the Kremlin Federal Guard service. The Valdai residence has been protected by air defence systems since Russia launched a fresh invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The extensive report was compiled with the help of a member of staff at the Valdai residence, the Dossier Centre said. It said it had verified the staff member’s identity and that he was employed by the Putin family.

The report provided details on almost every aspect of the children’s lives. Among their toys, it said, was a huge collection of Lego sets and an iPad which was used for games and video lessons. There are two ponies, rabbits, and a St Bernard dog which is cared for by Kremlin guards but lives with the family.

“They have to play mostly alone or with adults,” the report said. “They only see their parents late at night.”

The Putin boys have personal chefs who prepare separate dishes for them. Like their father, they have their own mugs and drink only from them. At about noon the children reportedly eat, then take a nap and after waking up there are lessons and sports.

Putin has never made any direct reference to the boys. However, this week, he told schoolchildren in Siberia that, “Members of my family, the little ones, speak Chinese.” His sons also study English and German.

Ivan was born in spring 2015 at the Sant’Anna maternity clinic in the Swiss city of Lugano, while Vladimir Jr was born in spring 2019 in Moscow, the report said. The children’s exact birthdays are only known to family members.

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Putin and Kabaeva are said to have advertised for a live-in English teacher this year. The Dossier Centre said the ad was posted by the Moscow-based English Nanny company, which recruits staff for wealthy families in Russia.

It did not identify the clients, but warned that the family lived in isolation and that it was necessary to undergo two weeks of quarantine before starting work there. During the pandemic, people who met Putin were also forced to self-isolate for two weeks beforehand.

Staff are barred from leaving the grounds, but have use of a gym and tennis court. The salary on offer was £6,500 a month. Dossier said that turnover was high. The advertisement said that the agency knew the family well and had found several British and German teachers for them in the past.

Although they have had staff from Britain and New Zealand in the past, Putin is now said to prefer people from countries friendly to Russia, such as South Africa.

In February and March the boys relocate to a luxury residence close to the Krasnaya Polyana resort, where they have been learning to ski. They spend July and August on luxury yachts, usually in the Gulf of Finland, on the Black Sea coast and Russia’s northern lakes. The boys travel by armoured train or private jet.

Their names are not included in official databases and they have been provided with “cover documents” of the type provided to spies or people in witness protection programmes, the report said.

The Russian dictator has spoken of his dislike of American cartoons, comparing them unfavourably to Soviet-era animated films. However, Ivan is said to be a huge fan of Disney and annoys Putin by pretending to be characters from its most popular films.

Putin has two adult daughters with his ex-wife, Lyudmila. Maria Vorontsova, 39, is an endocrinologist, and Katerina Tikhonova, 38, is a tech executive and former rock ’n’ roll acrobat dancer. Putin has never acknowledged them as his daughters, and refers to them as “these women.” He is also said to have a daughter, Luiza, 21, from an affair he had shortly before he became president in 2000.

Ivan is reported to have told his tutors and security guards on several occasions that Putin was so happy when he was born that he shouted “Hurray! ­Finally! A boy!”

Putin is notoriously touchy about his personal life. When a newspaper in Moscow reported in 2008 that he was in a relationship with Kabaeva, he said: “I have always had a negative attitude toward those who, with a runny nose and their erotic fantasies, interfere in other people’s lives.” The newspaper was shut down soon after.

The Dossier Centre was founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former oligarch who spent ten years in Russian prisons after publicly accusing high-ranking officials of corruption. Its ­report said that it had discovered photographs of Putin’s eldest son, but it had chosen not to publish them for ethical reasons. “Ivan Putin is a minor and is not responsible for the actions of his parents, and his appearance alone does not constitute public interest,” it wrote.