The Disturbing History Of Vladimir Putin’s Romantic Relationships

Though the history of the conflict is complicated and confusing, it’s clear that this war is of Russian President Vladmir Putin’s making. Despite constant news coverage, very little is known about the controversial dictator’s private life. However, the information that we do have shows how similar he is to dictators like Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler.

Putin Is Obsessively Protective of His Private Life

In journalist John Sweeney’s 2022 book, Killer in the Kremlin, he interviews Russian journalist Roman Badanin, who has investigated Putin’s private life and faced negative consequences. Badanin said, “To write a story on the personal life of Mr. Putin or about his personal wealth is really dangerous in Russia. It doesn’t mean that just after the article, for example, the police come for you. It can work out in a different way. We don’t know how, but trust me, it’s a dangerous topic.”

After exposing Putin’s first mistress and alleged secret daughter (more on them later), Badanin fled Russia for his own safety. He currently lives in California and is a JSK Fellow at Stanford University.

Why is it such a crime to investigate Putin’s private life? Many believe it’s because he allegedly hides his wealth in the accounts of family members, which is likely the case, but what’s disturbing is how the patterns in his private life are similar to previous dictators. Before we compare them, however, let’s take a look at some of the women that Putin is or has been romantically linked to.

Despite being one of the most infamous men in the world, Vladimir Putin’s private life is shrouded in mystery.

Lyudmila Ocheretnaya

Lyudmila Ocheretnaya is Putin’s ex-wife and mother to his two publicly known daughters, Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova. Both Vorontsova and Tikhonova were sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Treasury in April 2022 for allegedly being linked to the Kremlin and for allegedly hiding some of Putin’s assets.

Despite being married to Putin for 30 years, little is known about Ocheretnaya’s life, and it’s widely believed that she hated being First Lady of Russia and was relieved when they divorced in 2014. Before marrying Putin in 1983, she studied Spanish at Leningrad State University (now Saint Petersburg State University) and worked as a flight attendant. Since the divorce, she has remarried and changed her last name from Putina to Ocheretnaya.

Though she has not been sanctioned by the U.S. for her previous involvement with Putin, she was sanctioned by the United Kingdom in April 2022.

Svetlana Krivonogikh

It’s alleged that Krivonogikh was Putin’s mistress in the late 1990s-early 2000s and is the mother of his "secret love child," Elizaveta Krivonogikh, publicly known as Luiza Rozova. Mysteriously, there is no father listed on Luiza’s birth certificate. 

Luiza deleted her social media accounts last year after she was “outed” as Putin’s daughter; journalist Roman Badanin broke the story. The photos of her that have been leaked online show an uncanny resemblance to Putin. In April 2022, Luiza and her mother listed their St. Petersburg penthouse for rent, and the leaked photos of the listing show that both women are extremely wealthy. While the mystery behind Luiza’s identity is intriguing, it’s nothing compared to Krivonogikh’s alleged affair with Putin.

Krivonogikh was a student at Saint Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance and worked as a cleaner when she allegedly met and started an affair with Putin in the late ‘90s. She had her daughter in 2003, and mysteriously accumulated enough wealth over the years to make herself a millionaire. She is allegedly involved in Putin's inner circle, owns multiple luxury properties across Russia and Europe, and allegedly "owns a nightclub famed for erotic shows." How did a university student who worked as a cleaner mysteriously become one of the richest women in Russia? Many believe that an affair with Putin, or at least some type of corruption, is the only logical answer.

Alina Kabaeva

Putin’s most famous alleged mistress is Alina Kabaeva, a retired rhythmic gymnastics Olympic champion who now works in media. She also served in the State Duma (Russia’s equivalent to Congress or Parliament) from 2007-2014, where she advocated for the Kremlin’s agenda.

One of the most disturbing aspects of her alleged affair with Putin is that she was only 24 when the affair began in 2004, while Putin was 52. It’s widely believed that Kabaeva is the mother to three of Putin’s secret children. It’s rumored that she and the children have been hiding out in a chalet in Switzerland since the invasion began last year. There are also rumors that she and Putin are married, but there is little to no evidence to back up the claim.

Though Kabaeva is well-known in Russia, she’s rarely seen in public, so much so that Cosmopolitan Russia dubbed her as "the most mysterious and secretive woman in our country." In April 2022, she made an appearance at a gymnastics event in Moscow, where she gave a seemingly pro-war speech. She said, “This theme, you see, this story, doesn’t only go into the past. It stays with us. This celebration is not just for the whole country, this is a holiday for every family. Every family has a war story, and we mustn’t ever forget it, but pass it on from generation to generation.”

Cosmopolitan Russia dubbed Alina Kabaeva "the most mysterious and secretive woman in our country."

In the summer of 2022, Kabaeva faced financial sanctions from the U.S. government and other Western countries, essentially cutting her off from the Western economy. Though her net worth is unknown, it’s believed that Putin is hiding some of his wealth within his family, including Kabaeva.

After Kabaeva was sanctioned, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrote,"As innocent people suffer from Russia's illegal war of aggression, Putin's allies have enriched themselves and funded opulent lifestyles. The Treasury Department will use every tool at our disposal to make sure that Russian elites and the Kremlin's enablers are held accountable for their complicity in a war that has cost countless lives."

How Putin’s Love Life Is Similar to Other Dictators

Putin’s affairs only get more disturbing when you compare them to the private lives of other dictators like Stalin and Hitler. Stalin had two wives and several mistresses. His first wife, Ekaterina Svanidze, was the mother to his eldest son, Yakov, but died in 1907 of either typhoid or tuberculosis. Stalin was so distraught by her death that he allegedly "jumped into her grave," and he claimed that her death hardened him. He famously said, “This creature softened my heart of stone. She’s died and with her have died my last warm feelings for humanity.” 

His second wife, Nadezhda Alliluyeva, married Stalin in 1919 when she was 18 and he was 40. She was the mother of his two youngest children, Vasily and Svetlana. It’s widely believed that Stalin abused her due to her political disagreements with him and forced her to have multiple abortions. She died by suicide in 1932 when she was only 31 years old.

Stalin also had several mistresses, most famously with opera singer Vera Davydova and ballet dancer Olga Lepeshinskaya. Davydova famously published a memoir on the affair titled Confessions of Stalin’s Lover, leading her family to disown her and deny the affair. She implied that she was coerced into the affair, as she said, "How could I resist or refuse? At any second, with just a single word, my career could come to an end or I could be physically destroyed.”

Not much is known about Lepeshinskaya’s relationship with Stalin, and she has denied ever having a relationship with him. She famously said, "We [ballerinas] were all in love with him. He could be very sweet and very nice, but that was probably just the impression he created. Because at his core he was a bad person – vindictive and angry."

Hitler’s mistress and eventual wife, Eva Braun, first met him when she was only 17 and he was 40. Braun had no interest in politics and was described as "empty-headed," but being Hitler’s mistress came with an extravagant lifestyle. Some believe that she was smarter than she let on, but there’s no doubt that she was willing to ignore the horrors of Hitler’s regime if it meant that she could live a glamorous life in a rural chalet while the majority of Europe suffered during World War II. Despite their long affair, Braun was kept hidden from the public eye for Hitler to remain "attractive to his female admirers." They married on April 29, 1945, the day before they both committed suicide. Braun was 33, and Hitler was 56.

Though we don’t know the full story behind Putin’s alleged mistresses like Krivonogikh and Kabaeva, the similarities between them and the affairs of dictators like Stalin and Hitler are hard to deny. We can’t be sure if Putin is abusive, but it’s clear that Krivonogikh and Kabaeva were young when their alleged affairs began and are enjoying luxurious lifestyles while Russians and Ukrainians suffer. These affairs go to show how similar Putin really is to previous dictators, making the future of this unpredictable war unclear.

Closing Thoughts

Despite being one of the most infamous men in the world, Vladimir Putin’s private life is shrouded in mystery. As the war in Ukraine progresses, more people compare Putin to the likes of Hitler and Stalin, and by the looks of his private life, being a power-hungry monster isn’t the only thing he has in common with them.

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