Last Updated on 03/22/2022 by てんしょく飯
Russian President Vladimir Putin, 69, who has a strong image as a cool-headed leader, is no stranger to female scandals. While the international community is in turmoil over his invasion of Ukraine, a famous Olympic medalist has emerged as a potential new “mistress.
There are several women who are considered “Putin’s mistresses,” including a former housekeeper and his personal photographer.
One of the most notable issues in Putin’s personal life is the existence of an “illegitimate child” he is said to have had with his mistress. Itsuro Nakamura, a professor at Tsukuba University and an expert on the situation in Russia, explains.
In 2008, a Russian tabloid newspaper reported that Vladimir Putin was having an affair with Alina Kabayeva, 38, a gold medalist in rhythmic gymnastics at the Athens Olympics. Both denied it, but the tabloid that reported the affair suddenly ceased publication shortly thereafter, citing financial difficulties, which in turn added credibility to the story.
Putin divorced his ex-wife Lyudmila Putina, 64, in 2013. Many believe that Kabayeva, with whom he had been having an affair, was behind the divorce. According to the New York Post and other newspapers, Kabayeva is currently living in Switzerland, where she has a vacation home, with the four children she has with Putin. Mr. Nakamura continues.
There are several other women who are considered to be Putin’s mistresses, including his former housekeeper and his personal photographer, but there is a tendency among Russian politicians and those in power that having a beautiful athlete, especially an Olympic medalist, as a wife or mistress is a status symbol. Mr. Putin is no exception, and it is said that not a few Olympic medalists have had one-night stands or short-lived male-female relationships with him.
Nakamura points out that the intermediary between Mr. Putin and the female athlete is “the wife of a high-ranking Russian government official, a former Olympic medalist in her 40s with extensive contacts and influence in the country’s sports world. And now, the woman is enthusiastically supporting Alina Zagitova, 19, the beautiful and talented figure skating gold medalist in the women’s singles competition at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
It has been pointed out that “Mr. Putin’s favoritism goes beyond the relationship between a leader of a country and an athlete, as he sent a congratulatory telegram to Zagitova on her 18th birthday. We cannot deny the possibility that Putin will make her his next ‘mistress.
Whoever Mr. Putin, now a bachelor, falls in love with may not be to blame. However, if that love is for a gold medalist 50 years younger than himself, it may send shockwaves through the international community.
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