Alina Kabaeva, 38,
is widely rumoured to be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s girlfriend. A
former Olympic gold medallist in gymnastics, Kabaeva has been linked romantically
to Putin for years and is also said to have mothered children with him. The
relationship, however, has never been officially acknowledged. For her
athletics credentials, Alina Kabaeva is often referred to as Russia’s “most
flexible woman.”

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Kabaeva has served
as a member of the Russian Parliament for six years representing Vladimir Putin’s
United Russia Party. In 2014, she gave up her parliamentary membership and went
ahead to head the National Media Group, which has stakes in several newspapers
as well as Channel One, a state-controlled television channel. British tabloid
Daily Mail reported that Kabaeva earned a salary of £8
million a year when she headed the National Media Group.

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Alina Kabaeva shot
to fame after she won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics for rhythmic gymnastics.
Now, she keeps a fairly low profile and has only been seen with Putin on a few public
occasions and is said to be living in Switzerland. She was last seen in a video
dancing a rhythmic gymnastics tournament in Moscow in December 2021.

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Vladimir Putin’s life
has always been shrouded in mystery. When the former KGB operative’s divorce
was reported by the Moskovsky Korrespondent, the newspaper had to shut down within
days. At the time, Putin had come down heavily on journalists for prying with
their “snotty noses and erotic fantasies.”

Sometime ago, the
Anti-Corruption Foundation, founded by Putin’s principal opposition Alexey
Navalny, claimed that several Russian oligarchs had gifted Kabaeva’s family
money, assets and property. Alina Kabaeva is said to be living in Switzerland
since 2018. She effectively vanished from Russia after rumours that she had
given birth to Putin’s twins, The Sun reported.

In 2004, Kabaeva
posed semi-nude for a men’s magazine. She is back in the news after a
change.org petition was filed calling for Switzerland to sanction Alina Kabaeva.