Who Are Vladimir Putin's Secret Daughters? New Photos Emerge Of Children From Russian President's First Marriage
They've flown under the radar.
Frederic Legrand / ShutterstockVladimir Putin knows how to make headlines. The controversial Russian President makes headlines for both his policies and his propensity to mix and mingle with celebrities. (Remember when he hung out with Conor McGregor? Remember when Oliver Stone did a docu-series on him?)
But while Putin's life remains in the headlines, his private life tends to remain private ... until now.
A renegade Russian oligarch leaked pictures of what he claims are Putin's two secret daughters, whom many believe are from his first marriage. But are the photos legit? And if so...
Who are Vladimir Putin's secret daughters?
Rare photos were leaked by a "renegade" Russian oligarch.
Sergei Pugachev, a self-proclaimed "billionaire who single-handedly brought Putin to power," leaked photos of Putin's two daughters on his website . The photo featured the two girls with Pugachev's own daughters, but it was an old photo dating back to when they were teenagers. (Putin's daughters are in their 30s now.) They were with a pop group by the name of Strelki, who were known as The Russian Spice Girls. As for why Pugachev decided to release the photos today, it's been speculated — though not confirmed — that it's because the Hague refused to hear his $12 billion lawsuit against the Russian government and Pugachev vowed to "press on" with his suit.
The daughters in the photos are products of his first marriage.
Putin married the former Lyudmila Shkrebneva in 1983, and they lived in East Germany (as it was known at the time) until 1990. His two daughters, Mariya Putina and Yekaterina Putina, are the product of that marriage. Mariya was born in 1985 in Leningrad, Russia, while Yekaterina was born in 1986 in Dresden, Germany. Putin got divorced in 2014, and his ex-wife reportedly got remarried in 2015.
He never denied his two oldest daughters' existence.
For what it's worth, Putin never denied that he had two daughters. In fact, when the announcement of his divorce was released to the American press, it was confirmed that Mariya and Yekaterina were his two adult daughters. However, he kept them out of the spotlight, just as his ex-wife mostly remained out of the spotlight.
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Does Putin have other children?
There are rumors that beginning in 2004, Putin took up with Russian gymnast Alina Kabaeva. Rumors also persist that Putin has a third daughter with Kabaeva, and that the existence of that daughter contributed to the demise of his marriage. However, Putin's relationship with Kabaeva, and the resultant daughter, was never confirmed. However, another source claims that Putin has at least two boys with the former gymnast, though those sons have never been confirmed, either. The Russian media calls Putin's image a "carefully curated mystery."
Putin's daughters are very accomplished.
When the Putin family moved back to Russia in 1996, Mariya and Yekaterina were put in a German language school to protect their identities. However, when Putin became acting president of Russia, his daughters were taken out of school and educated at home. Mariya went on to study biology, and ultimately went on to medical school. Today, she's married to a Dutch gentleman, and has a career in medical research. Yekaterina went on to study Asian studies, and had a career as a competitive dancer before moving on to head up a Russian intelligence initiative. To protect their identities, the Putinas enrolled in college under false names.
He has two grandsons as well.
In the docu-series produced by Oliver Stone, it was revealed that Putin not only has two daughters but actually also has two grandsons. However, he didn't reveal their names. He said that his grandsons "live normal lives," and he didn't want to make a public spectacle of them because he wanted to give them as normal of a life as possible. "The thing is, I don’t want them to grow up like hereditary princes; I want them to grow up to be normal people. If I mention ages and names, they would be identified and never left alone,” he said.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, publicist, and photographer whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, People, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, BET.com, and more.