She’s an Olympic-winning gymnast - once called “Russia’s most flexible woman” - and a former pro-Kremlin member of parliament between 2007-2014. But, Alina Kabaeva, 38, is best known as Vladimir Putin’s alleged secret mistress.
Despite claims she was hiding out in a Swiss chalet or a Siberian nuclear bunker, photos of Kabaeva at a junior rhythmic gymnastics rehearsal in Moscow unexpectedly surfaced earlier this week. In the pictures – shared by trainer Ekaterina Sirotina despite a reported ban on images from inside the rehearsal – she was seen wearing a wedding ring, sparking rumours that she married the Russian president while in hiding. She was also sporting a “new appearance”, with many wondering if she and Putin shared the same plastic surgeon.
“Something has really changed in Kabaeva’s face... the legendary athlete was noticeably prettier,” wrote Russian Cosmopolitan which avoided state censorship by avoiding linking her to Putin. “Alina Kabaeva is one of the most mysterious and secretive women in our country.”
Telegram channel Tol’ko Nikomu also commented on the picture, saying: "A new rare appearance of Alina Kabaeva. This time she is dressed casually - and is again seen with a wedding ring.”
The former gymnast is seldom seen in public, having practically “vanished” from public life between 2018-2021 after rumours she was married to the Russian President surfaced. It makes her second official sighting this week even more shocking.
Kabaeva was also seen praising Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine during her lavish eponymous “Alina Festival” at the VTB Arena in Moscow. Wearing a patriotic St George’s ribbon on her chest, Kabaeva delivered a rousing speech appearing to link victory over Nazism in the Second World War to today’s events in Ukraine. “This theme, you see, this story, doesn’t only go into the past. It stays with us,” she said. “This celebration is not just for the whole country, this is a holiday for every family. Every family has a war story, and we mustn’t ever forget it, but pass it on from generation to generation.”
As Russia’s “First Lady in the Shadows” steps into the light, we trace her journey from Olympic gold medalist to rumoured wife of the Russian President.
“Russia’s most flexible woman”
Kabaeva was born on 12 May 1983 in Tashkent, the capital city for Uzbekistan, and is the daughter of Lyubov Kabaeva and Marat Kabayev, a professional football player.
She started rhythmic gymnastics at age three and moved to Moscow in her early teens, where she trained under Russian head coach Irina Viner. She made her international debut in 1996 and by 1998 the 15-year-old had won her first European Championship in Portugal. At the time, Kabaeva was the youngest member of the Russian squad, competing alongside internationally recognized teammates Amina Zaripova, Yana Batyrshina and Irina Tchachina.
She is widely praised for revolutionising rhythmic gymnastics as one of the few gymnasts to have performed new skills and elements, including the back split pivot with hand help (also known as "The Kabaeva"). However, her career wasn’t without controversy.
In 2001, Alina Kabaeva was convicted of using furosemide, a diuretic sometimes used by athletes to shed weight quickly or to mask other forbidden drugs. As a result, Kabaeva was disqualified from competing for two years. She was also ordered to return the medals she won at the rhythmic gymnastics world championships in Madrid in October 2001, where Kabaeva was the overall world champion. She claimed the diuretic came from tainted pills.
The favourite wife of Putin
Once dubbed “Russia’s most eligible woman”, rumours began circulating in April 2008 of an affair when Russian newspaper Moskovsky Korrespondent ran a story claiming Putin had divorced his wife Lyudmila Putina and was set to marry Kabaeva. The story was denied by the Kremlin and the newspaper was shut down.
However, in 2013 Putin announced his divorce from the former Aeroflot hostess and the dictator of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, hinted that Putin’s divorce decision came about because Kabaeva "put pressure on the president". Around the same time, Kabaeva also stated that she has found a partner whom she “loves very much,” and gushed that: “Sometimes you feel so joyful that you feel afraid.”
Kabeava reportedly has a fleet of Maybach limousines at her disposal, and was seen surrounded by a squad of machine-gun toting security guards on visits to a Moscow cafe in 2014, likely indicating she qualifies for state-level security thanks to her relationship with Putin. Moreover, Putin and Kabaeva have been pictured together on several occasions, and investigations by the Anti-Corruption Foundation, set up by jailed Putin opponent Alexei Navalny, revealed several Russian oligarchs have inexplicably bestowed gifts of property, money and other assets upon Kabaeva’s family.
In July 2013, Kabaeva claimed that she did not have any children. However, in March 2015, it was alleged that she had given birth to a daughter at the VIP-hospital of Saint Ann in Ticino, Switzerland, and in 2019, she apparently gave birth to twin sons at the Kulakov maternity clinic in Moscow.
Sources in Lugano, Switzerland had previously told Bulgarian tabloid site 24 Chasa that it was known Kabaeva lived there and that everyone who knew her (and her children) had sworn to keep their location secret. However, the Swiss government has previously said on March 20 that there was no information that she was in the country.
Still, a petition, launched by citizens in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine two weeks ago, called for Swiss authorities to kick Kabaeva out of Switzerland and deport her back to Russia. The appeal, which describes Kabaeva as the “favourite wife of the delusional dictator and war criminal Putin”, has since garnered over 73,500 signatures.
“It’s time you reunite Eva Braun with her Führer,” the strongly-worded petition said. “Despite the current war, Switzerland continues to host an accomplice of Putin’s regime.”
Head of the National Media Group
In 2014 Kabaeva was appointed by the Kremlin to run the state-owned National Media Group, with a reported salary of $10 million a year, despite having no previous media or business expertise. The National Media Group is a Kremlin-obedient TV and newspaper behemoth which controls Izvestia, Channel One and REN TV, and although Kabaeva has kept a low profile during the Ukraine war - her media group has been a vocal cheerleader for Putin.
It’s why Putin’s nemesis Navalny has demanded from his prison cell that Kavaeva face sanctions. “I want to remind you that the National Media Group, which owns the lion’s share of this apparatus of lies, undoubtedly belongs to Putin personally, and as such is even formally headed by Putin’s mistress Alina Kabaeva.” He also called for Kabaeva to be treated as a “war criminal”.
Unlike Putin’s two adult daughters, Maria and Katerina, Kabaeva has so far escaped Western sanctioning. Following Navalny’s outbursts, her picture and profile have now been removed from The National Media Group amid fears they could soon come. The US, so far, has held off sanctioning Putin’s lover for fear it could derail peace talks.
