Who is Alina Kabaeva, Vladimir Putin’s rumoured ‘secret first lady’? How the Russian former gymnast went from Olympic champ to politician, style icon … and possible president’s wife

As Russia continues to attack Ukraine, citizens in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine have launched a strongly-worded petition on Change.org demanding that Switzerland expel Alina Kabaeva, the “favourite wife of the delusional dictator and war criminal”. Although British media recently reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin is hiding Kabaeva and their four children in Switzerland for protection while Russian forces invade their neighbour, she was unexpectedly spotted at a junior rhythmic gymnastics rehearsal in Moscow in late April. In the pictures, she was seen wearing a wedding ring, sparking rumours that she married Putin while in hiding. Here’s what you need to know about Kabaeva, Putin’s alleged girlfriend. 1. She was once called Russia’s most flexible woman Known for revolutionising rhythmic gymnastics with her rare skills, including the back scale pivot, she won the European Championships in 1998 at age 15 and was the youngest member on the Russian team. The following year, she won the world title in Osaka, becoming the European Champion for the second consecutive time. Who is the richest Pink Floyd member? The band’s net worths, ranked At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the then 17-year-old took home a bronze. At the 2001 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships and Goodwill Games, she won golds but lost her medals when she was tested positive for furosemide (a banned diuretic found in a counterfeit medicine she was taking for premenstrual syndrome). However, she bounced back and won four world titles in 2003, as well as the European Championship in 2004 and the 2004 Athens Olympics gold before announcing her retirement. Kabaeva is one of the most prolific gymnasts in rhythmic gymnastics history, with two Olympic medals, 14 World Championship medals and 21 European Championship medals. The torch-bearer at the 2014 Sochi Opening Ceremony holds the record for the most European All-Around titles (five). The six-time Russian National All-Around Champion is also only one of the three rhythmic gymnasts to have won all grand slam titles (Olympics, World Championships, European Championships, World Cup Final and Grand Prix Final). According to Rhythmic Academy, several coaches refused to train the Tashkent-born Kabaeva at first, as they considered her “too heavy” and “ugly” to be a rhythmic gymnast. When her mother took her to Russian head coach Irina Viner, she said of the then 11-year-old Alina, “I could not believe my eyes when I first saw her. The girl has the rare combination of two qualities crucial in rhythmic gymnastics – flexibility and agility.” 2. She is allegedly Russia’s secret first lady Kabaeva is best known as Putin’s rumoured secret lover. She reportedly met Putin at the height of her athletic fame. In April 2008, Russian newspaper Moskovsky Korrespondent, owned by Putin’s ex-KGB spy colleague and billionaire Alexander Lebedev, added fuel to the fire when it published an interview with a St Petersburg wedding planner who claimed that he had been hired to wed Kabaeva and Putin. After Kabaeva and the Kremlin swiftly denied the explosive information, Moskovsky Korrespondent was mysteriously shut down, citing “financial difficulties”. Meet Walt Disney’s billionaire-bashing grandniece, Abigail Disney Though both Kabaeva and Putin tried to squelch the gossip, the rumour acquired fresh life when, in 2013, Putin announced his divorce from his wife of 30 years. Speculation continued about Putin’s relationship with the Olympic medallist, including allegations that they have multiple children together. Irina Viner, the wife of oligarch and Russia’s ex-deputy prime minister Alisher Usmanov, once indicated that she knew about Kabaeva’s children’s father. “When Alina finds the right time, she will say it herself. I’m just happy for her,” she was quoted as saying by British media. Kabaeva reportedly gave birth to twins in Moscow, in April 2019. Coincidentally, Putin personally awarded obstetrician Leyla Adamyan, who works at the Kulakov maternity clinic, the order “For Merit to the Fatherland” – one of Russia’s highest civilian medals. 3. She is living the life of a first lady After she hung up her hoop, ribbon, clubs and ball for good, Kabaeva was recruited by Putin’s United Russia party and held a seat in Russia’s lower house of parliament for eight years. In 2014, she became the head of the National Media Group, a pro-Kremlin conglomerate which runs Izvestia, Channel One, REN TV and Sport Express. According to leaked tax records, Kabaeva is paid more than US$9.4 million a year via billionaire Yuri Kovalchuk, Putin’s close aide who controls National Media Group. According to Evening Standard, in keeping with the status that she would command as Putin’s wife, Kabaeva has a fleet of luxury cars, including Maybach limousines and a state-level security cover that includes a squad of machine-gun-toting security guards. Why did these 5 Chinese tech billionaires step down? 4. From athlete to sex and style symbol After notching a bronze medal in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Kabaeva starred in the 2001 Japanese samurai film Red Shadow performing a gymnastics routine. Four years later, she struck gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics and posed nude for Maxim. “I didn’t even need to persuade her. She behaved very naturally,” photographer Mikhail Korolov told British media. Capitalising on her gymnastics stardom, the Russian member of parliament graced the January 2011 cover of Russian Vogue wearing a US$33,000 gold Balmain gown. Want more stories like this? Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.