Total shielding New details about Putin's illegitimate sons revealed

It has been rumored for years that Vladimir Putin has illegitimate children with ex-athlete Alina Kabaeva. Now the rumor has been confirmed: Ivan and Vladimir Jr. live in seclusion and hardly see anyone their own age.

Vladimir Putin has only walked down the aisle once: His marriage to Lyudmila Putina ended in divorce in 2014 after 31 years. Since then, the Kremlin leader has only been "married to Russia", as his press spokesman Dmitry Peskov once said.

Putin always keeps a very low profile when it comes to his private life. This made his visit to a school in Kysyl in the Russian republic of Tuva in Siberia on September 2 all the more sensational. The 71-year-old told the children that he had only slept for four hours, which was due to a lot of work, but also to poor planning.

"Everyone should be critical of themselves and learn from their mistakes," he is quoted as saying. "I try to do that and advise you to do the same." Putin goes on to reveal: "Even the youngest members of my family speak fluent Chinese."

Existence of Ivan and Vladimir Jr. confirmed

On the one hand, this makes people laugh: "small member" sounds exactly like "small penises" in Russian, explains Russian journalist Ksenia Turkova. On the other hand, the question arises as to which young relatives he is referring to: daughters Mariya Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova are 39 and 38 years old.

The former has two children, the latter one: so did he mean the grandchildren? And while the world is still guessing, journalists from the non-profit Dossier Center drop a bombshell: They reveal not only that Putin has two children with ex-athlete Alina Kabaeva, but also how Ivan Putin and Vladimir Putin Jr. live.

Rumors about the two have been around for a long time: in September 2013, for example, his spokesman Peskov complained that he was being asked "for the 100th time" about what was going on between the two. At the time, there were even rumors that Putin had married Kabaeva at the Iversky Monastery in Valdai, where the St. Petersburg native also has a residence.

Kabaeva's cousin claims children as her own

"I don't know where this information is coming from," Peskov commented at the time. "I really got a lot of calls on Sunday. These calls really amused me and I replied: 'The only problem is that Putin is in Sochi. I can't tell them why the Iversky Monastery is cordoned off."

It is unclear whether Putin and the 30 years younger woman said yes to each other. But it is now certain that the couple have two sons - and the older one was also born in Switzerland: Ivan Putin was born in spring 2015 at the Clinica Sant'Anna in Lugano. Vladimir Putin Jr. was born in Moscow in spring 2019.

The two boys are officially named as the children of Olesya Fedina, Kabaeva's cousin. Officially, their names do not appear anywhere. They live in complete seclusion in the presidential residence in Valdai: "When the older son plays field hockey or takes part in a performance and Olesya Fedina is watching, the child does not run to her after the match or show, but to a box behind opaque glass where the real mother is sitting," says the Dossier Center.

It is "not easy to get along with the family"

The two boys are looked after by four nannies, who work in teams of two for two weeks at a time in the residence. They work twelve hours and are not allowed to leave the premises. Only in February and March do they go skiing in Sochi every year, while July and August are spent on Putin's yachts in the Gulf of Finland or the Black Sea.

The nannies must come from countries that are well-disposed towards Russia - such as South Africa. The salary is a good 7200 francs. However, because it is "not easy to get along with the family", new people are constantly being sought. The children also have teachers for swimming and gymnastics.

"The boys' lives mirror that of their father," writes Dossier Center. "They have personal chefs who prepare individual meals for them. Like Putin, they have their own cups from which they drink exclusively. Security guards from the [Secret Service counterpart] Federalnaya Slushba Ochrany are always nearby."

"They grow up knowing they are special"

Putin is said to sometimes play field hockey with his eldest in the evenings. There are also opportunities for sporting activities in all of the residence's buildings. "They grow up knowing that they are special. Every whim is granted to them and they see the residence as their private property. This sense of entitlement is reinforced by the special treatment their father receives."

The fact that teachers, security staff and employees fear Putin so much and that the boys have hardly any contact with their peers does not make things any better. Ivan Putin was also told by relatives what his father is said to have exclaimed at his birth: "Hurray, finally a boy!"

Ksenia Turkova knows that his adult children from his regular marriage are treated differently in Russia: Putin only talks about his ex-wife and her as "these women". The press is also only allowed to refer to them as the president's "alleged daughters". Turkova emphasizes how little Putin's theory of the Russian family resembles his practice in this regard.

Putin's clique wants to stop the ageing process

As if the revelations were not spectacular enough, it is now also being reported that Putin's inner circle is afraid of the ravages of time: The Kremlin is allegedly putting pressure on scientists to speed up their research into slowing down the ageing process.

"We have been asked to send all our developments," one person involved is quoted as saying. "Let's say: The letter arrived today, but everything should have been sent yesterday." The whole thing is being pushed by Vladimir Chawinson, a 77-year-old gerontologist and friend of Putin.

He is also said to have developed a drug that slows down the ageing process. However, it is unclear whether Putin is taking the drug and whether it works at all. Putin will turn 72 in October - by which time the president will have already surpassed the average life expectancy of Russian men by five years.