Inside Putin’s Secret Life and the Wild Lengths He Goes to Keep It Hidden

Vladimir Putin goes to “surreal” lengths to shroud his private life in mystery, but recent security failures have allowed journalists and activists unprecedented access to the secrets of his inner circle.

A new report by the Dossier Center, a Russian opposition media group, revealed that the Russian president, his rumored romantic partner, and children are isolated in their residences, travel only by armored train, yacht or private jet, and require visitors to quarantine for two weeks.

The Russian leader, who only broadcasts details from his personal life that support his purported Machismo, has long hidden key information about himself, especially about his family. He only acknowledges the existence of two daughters he had with his ex-wife who live under assumed names.

Meanwhile, Putin’s more-than-a-decade-long relationship with former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva is considered an “open secret” in Russia, and he has repeatedly denied the existence of children born out of the relationship.

According to the report, Putin and Kabaeva have two sons, Ivan and Vladimir Jr. Russia’s “most secretive” children are absent from state databases, and their birthdates are only known by close relatives.

Kabaeva and the children are allegedly sequestered in one of Putin’s palaces in the northern town of Valdai. Their daily lives are managed by dozens of people including drivers, bodyguards, teachers, and assistants. The sons are shuffled around the palace grounds exclusively by car.

“They do not attend kindergarten or school; instead, they have private tutors,” Ilya Rozhdestvensky, the investigation’s author, wrote. “They live in residences guarded by [foreign service officers], travel on yachts, and ride in armored trains, with minimal interaction with peers and rare visits from their father.”

As for Kabaeva, even when Putin comes to town, the Olympic gymnast must watch the President and her children play ice-hockey from an opaque glass box, hidden away from the staff.

But Putin’s complex privacy apparatus, the report’s author told the Atlantic, shows “many signs of security negligence” despite the leader’s “surreal” schemes. Some of the details outlined in the Dossier Center’s investigation were corroborated using photos of Russian leader’s sons that were posted to social media by employees and guests.