Leaked photos claim to show Putin’s hidden sons training with Alina Kabaeva, revealing a rare look into the Kremlin’s secretive family. Photos: X.
Newly leaked photographs and videos appear to show Russian President Vladimir Putin’s alleged hidden sons, Ivan, 10, and Vladimir Jr., 6, training as gymnasts under the guidance of their mother, former Olympic champion Alina Kabaeva. According to a NY Post report, the images, smuggled out of Russia, capture the boys participating in a gymnastics event run by Kabaeva, who is widely described as Putin’s long-time mistress.
A video published by the Russian-language OSINT Bees channel includes an interview with the boy identified as Ivan. In it, he discusses the “cool” gymnastics moves he learned from Olympic legends Alexei Nemov, Evgenia Kanaeva and Taghir Khaibulaev.
According to the channel, the footage was recorded in January after Kabaeva invited the decorated athletes to conduct master classes for her sons at her namesake academy.
Putin maintains extreme secrecy around his purported younger children. According to multiple reports, the boys and their mother live an isolated life in a heavily guarded forest compound in Valdai, northwest of Moscow.
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According to reports, the boys were given a cover surname, Spiridonov, and all the territory around the Valdai dwelling of the tsar’s family is strictly guarded.
The alias “Spiridonov” is believed to reference Putin’s paternal grandfather, Spiridon Putin, who lived from 1879 to 1965.
Earlier this year, anti-Kremlin Telegram channel VChK-OGPU released what it claimed were the first photos of Ivan, calling him “the loneliest boy in Russia.”
“Ivan is in a team of boy-gymnasts… He took part in a large [performance] called ‘Lezginka’ at a festival organized by his mother,” the channel wrote.
Images also show the boy with his teammates at ALINA 2023, an event named after Kabaeva.
“From the numerous photos […] of the sports team for which Ivan competes, you can see that one of its members is not an ordinary boy,” the channel alleged.
Other images circulating online appear to show light-haired Vladimir Jr. posing with his martial arts group and collecting a medal at a competition.
Putin, 73, and Kabaeva, 41, have been linked since at least 2008, though neither has ever publicly acknowledged their reported 17-year relationship.
A Russian outlet that speculated about their ties was shut down shortly afterward, and state media remains prohibited from discussing any connection between the two.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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