Putin’s “Harem”: The $78 million cleaning lady, the Olympic lover & the revelations about his secret life

It was dawn connected June 29, 2021, erstwhile writer Roman Badanin was awakened by the persistent ringing of his flat doorbell successful Moscow’s Chertanovo district.

Outside stood six to 8 men successful plain clothes—members of the FSB, Russia’s national information service—holding a hunt warrant. For six hours they turned his location upside down, portion constabulary officers searched the cars of some him and his wife. He was past taken to a constabulary presumption and interrogated non-stop for 4 hours.

The standard of the cognition could person suggested a billion-dollar ungraded oregon a conspiracy against the state. But Badanin’s “crime” was simply publishing a brief, low-key interrogation with a young pistillate who claimed to beryllium Vladimir Putin’s illegitimate daughter.

“It’s precise simple,” the present 48-year-old Badanin told The Daily Mail. “Putin’s backstage beingness is 1 of the biggest taboos. Among Russian journalists, there’s a saying: ‘Don’t interaction his family.’”

Shortly afterward, Badanin was forced to fly Russia with his woman and daughter, settling successful California. There, unneurotic with his adjacent workfellow Mikhail Rubin, helium wrote the publication The Tsar Himself: How Vladimir Putin Fooled Us All, which contains revealing details astir the Russian president’s idiosyncratic and romanticist life.

From the KGB to the Halls of Power

Putin, a erstwhile serviceman of the notorious KGB, entered authorities aft the illness of the Soviet Union successful 1991. Within 3 years, helium had already go lawman politician of St. Petersburg.

At the time, helium was joined to Lyudmila, a erstwhile Aeroflot formation attendant, and begetter of 2 daughters. But his household beingness did not forestall him from often visiting a portion nine called Luna successful the metropolis center. According to witnesses, helium organized “meetings” successful backstage rooms connected the precocious floor, protected by a radical with ties to his then-bodyguard, Roman Tsepow.

The Cleaner Who Became a Millionaire: The Case of Svetlana Krivonogikh

Putin’s archetypal known extramarital matter is said to person been with Svetlana Krivonogikh, a cleaner who worked successful a store successful St. Petersburg and was known for her beauty.

According to Proekt’s findings, their narration began successful 1999, erstwhile Putin was inactive premier minister, and successful 2003 they had a daughter, Elizaveta—now known arsenic Luiza Rozova.

In 2020, the young Rozova gave an interrogation to Badanin’s website, which enraged the Kremlin. Journalist Andrei Zakharov, who conducted the interview, aboriginal wrote that the miss “bears an astonishing resemblance to the Russian president.” A facial investigation by the University of Bradford recovered a 70.44% similarity with Putin.

Although the father’s sanction does not look connected the commencement certificate, Rozova carries the patronymic “Vladimirovna”—a item that would beryllium hard to explicate arsenic coincidence.

Around the aforesaid time, her mother’s beingness changed dramatically. In 2003, Krivonogikh bought, done an offshore company, an flat successful Monte Carlo worthy £2.9 million. The Pandora Papers aboriginal revealed that her luck exceeded £78 million, including luxury properties successful Moscow and St. Petersburg and adjacent a yacht.

The Gymnast Who Became the “Secret First Lady”

The adjacent pistillate linked to Putin was Alina Kabaeva, an Olympic golden medalist successful rhythmic gymnastics astatine the 2004 Athens Games and a nationalist leader successful Russia. With the assistance of her coach, Irina Viner—wife of oligarch Alisher Usmanov—Kabaeva met the Russian person soon aft her victory.

A twelvemonth later, Putin awarded her the “Order for Merit to the Fatherland” astatine the Kremlin. Rumors of a narration betwixt them grew successful 2006, and a twelvemonth aboriginal her erstwhile partner, vocalist Murat Nasyrov, died mysteriously aft falling from a Moscow flat balcony.

In 2008, the paper Moskovsky Korrespondent published a study that Putin and Kabaeva were preparing to wed that summertime successful St. Petersburg. The nonfiction caused an planetary sensation, with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi joking beside Putin during a associated property conference.

Putin reacted angrily: “I cognize the stereotype that politicians unrecorded successful solid houses, but determination indispensable beryllium limits. I’ve ever despised those who task their erotic fantasies onto the lives of others.” Berlusconi jokingly mimed “shooting” the journalist.

Soon after, the newspaper’s offices were raided by the FSB, exertion Grigory Nekhoroshev was forced to resign, and the insubstantial was unopen down nether pressure.

Kabaeva whitethorn ne'er person officially joined Putin, but she is said to person 2 sons with him—10-year-old Ivan and 6-year-old Vladimir—and to wield sizeable influence. Since 2014, she has headed the National Media Group, with an yearly income of £7.7 million, and is simply a shareholder successful Bank Rossiya, 1 of the country’s largest backstage banks.

That aforesaid year, during the Sochi Winter Olympics, the 2 were seen wearing matching rings, and Kabaeva was a torchbearer astatine the opening ceremony. Around that time, Putin finalized his separation from Lyudmila aft 3 decades of marriage.

The Wife Who “Spoke Out” and the Split That Marked the End

According to the book, the estrangement betwixt Putin and his woman began overmuch earlier. In the summertime of 2004, during the statesmanlike couple’s authoritative sojourn to Mexico, movie manager Igor Shadkhan, an aged acquaintance of the family, visited their edifice room. During the conversation, helium dared to archer Putin that helium risked turning into an authoritarian person who would resistance Russia backmost to the Soviet era.

The remark provoked a beardown absorption from Lyudmila, who—according to the authors—became “hysterical” and, astir successful tears, tried to transportation him not to question a 2nd term. The manager left, realizing helium had witnessed a country helium was ne'er meant to see. From that moment, the authors write, Lyudmila’s destiny was sealed: she had publically disagreed with a antheral who demanded implicit control—not lone implicit his state but implicit his ain family.

The mates yet announced their separation successful 2013 and divorced successful 2014. Lyudmila, arsenic revealed, resented her husband’s endless moving hours, portion helium described her arsenic a “difficult woman” whom lone heroes could tolerate for much than 3 weeks.

The Student of the “Hot Calendar”

In 2010, portion his narration with Kabaeva was ongoing, Putin is said to person go progressive with a 17-year-old pupil named Alisa Kharcheva, who participated successful a suggestive day calendar dedicated to him.

In the photograph shoot, wearing a satin apical and smiling provocatively, she was accompanied by the caption: “Vladimir Vladimirovich, you’re the best!” The calendar reportedly reached the Kremlin, and according to journalistic sources, “Miss April” visited the president doubly a period for a year.

Kharcheva’s fortunes changed dramatically. She enrolled astatine the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, and a fewer years aboriginal lived successful a luxury flat wrong a guarded analyzable successful the capital. In 2012, she posted a photograph wearing a reddish formal and holding a kitten beside a representation of Putin, with the provocative caption: “Pussy for Putin.”

Marriage Doesn’t Matter – The Culture of Power and Dependency

As Badanin and Rubin note, Putin and his adjacent ellipse presumption matrimony arsenic a “non-binding institution,” wherever infidelity and polygamy are accepted, and wherever a woman’s nonrecreational occurrence often depends connected her narration with almighty men.

Despite successive rumors and affairs, Alina Kabaeva—now 42—remains the astir enduring beingness successful the 73-year-old Russian leader’s life. In 2022, soon aft the penetration of Ukraine, reports claimed she was surviving successful a luxury chalet adjacent Lugano, Switzerland. Later she is said to person returned to Russia, wherever she continues to clasp her presumption and privileges.

The Price of Revelation

The communicative of Roman Badanin, the authors note, serves arsenic a informing to anyone who dares to “poke their nose” into the Russian president’s backstage life. After the work of Rozova’s interview, not lone Badanin’s location but besides those of Rubin and different Proekt collaborators were raided.

A fewer weeks later, portion connected a planned abrogation successful Morocco, Badanin learned that helium had been declared a “foreign agent” and “undesirable” successful Russia. “We realized that if we went back, we’d beryllium arrested. Anyone moving with alleged ‘undesirable persons’ tin extremity up successful prison,” helium says today.

He and his woman returned concisely lone to cod their belongings and assistance astir 10 colleagues escape. Since then, they person lived successful exile successful the United States.

The publication The Tsar Himself sheds airy connected a broadside of Vladimir Putin that the Kremlin strives to erase: a person who seeks implicit power not lone implicit his federation but implicit everyone astir him.

The women who crossed his path—from the cleaner-turned-millionaire to the Olympic champion who gained powerfulness and wealth—form portion of a broader picture: a Russia wherever loyalty is rewarded, soundlessness is enforced, and powerfulness is the eventual aphrodisiac.