Children of a dictator and a gymnast: how Putin and Kabaeva's sons live

The Dossier Center, a non-profit project of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, has released an investigation about the sons of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and former gymnast Alina Kabaeva. UNN recounts the highlights. 

“The sons of Vladimir Putin and Alina Kabaeva, Ivan Putin and Vladimir Putin (Junior) (...) They cannot be found in state databases, from infancy they have cover documents, which are mostly made for spies and people under state protection. Their dates of birth are only known by their immediate family. They don't fly on regular flights, they have separate airplanes. They don't attend kindergartens or schools, they are hired governesses. They live in residences under the protection of the FSO, go on yachts and ride on an armored train, they hardly communicate with their peers and rarely see their father,” the journalists' investigation says. 

As stated in the material, the eldest son Ivan accompanied his mother during her visit to the festival of rhythmic gymnastics “Alina-2023”.

Investigative journalists point out that while working on the material they found several dozen photos of Vladimir Putin's eldest son. But for ethical reasons they decided not to publish the pictures. 

Ilya Rozhdestvensky, a journalist from the Dossier project, told Real Time in an interview. Materials were collected from open sources and in the process of collecting them the journalists managed to establish contact with a person working in Putin's residence. 

Rozhdestvensky separately emphasized that the secrecy that surrounds Putin, the strictness of isolation and strict security measures “are combined with a certain profanation and optional fulfillment of these strict measures: everyone is a little bit hammered on the fact that everything should be very secret, very secret.

The journalist said that Dossier initially relied on The Wall Street Journal's information that Kabaeva and Putin had three children, but it turned out that there were two: Ivan and Vladimir.

Dozens of people deal with the everyday life of the Russian dictator's family: drivers, security guards, teachers, cooks, pilots, trainers, waiters, assistants and many others. 

The eldest son was born in Switzerland and the youngest in Russia

When the relationship between the Russian dictator and Alina Kabaeva began is not known. As “Dossier” writes, in March 2008 in one of the interviews Kabaeva said that she had already met her ideal man, without naming him, and unexpectedly answered in detail to the question whether she could take her husband out of the family: “If there are already problems in the family and the man looks at another woman and communicates with another woman, not with his wife, it means that the problem has already taken place. Therefore, nothing good can already happen in the family.” Two months later, Kabaeva was flying to Sochi on the business jet of the president's friend Gennady Timchenko. Since at least 2011, the Olympic champion has not hidden her wedding ring, around the same time she herself, her mother, sister and grandmother began to receive from friends of the head of state expensive real estate as gifts.

In 2014, Kabaeva traveled three times from Sochi to Lugano, Switzerland.  On the last trip, in October, she was accompanied by her mother Lyubov Kabaeva and friends. Along with them on board was Natalia Thiebaud - it is indicated that this is a gynecologist from a Swiss clinic, who probably delivered Kabaeva's baby in the spring of 2015. At that time, the eldest son, Ivan, was born in Lugano. In the spring of 2019, Thiebaud came to Moscow to help Kabaeva deliver her second child, also a boy, who was named Vladimir. 

It is specified that Natalia Thiebaud - born in Russia, but emigrated to Switzerland more than 30 years ago, took her husband's surname and changed citizenship. “But with Putin she has maintained a trusting relationship,” Dossier here quotes the Swiss publication SonntagsZeitung - the first to report that Putin has two sons with Kabaeva. 

According to “Dossier” both times the decision on where the births will take place was made by Putin himself.

“In 2015, it seemed that having a baby in Switzerland would help keep it hidden from prying eyes. Four years later, Putin was just as sure that the proper level of secrecy could only be ensured in Moscow. And although both times the arrival of children became known to the press, the Russian leader did not change himself in the future. His family is practically imprisoned in mansions and leaves them mainly to move to another residence. With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the situation has only worsened,” the investigation said.

Life in isolation - how recruitment goes 

English Nanny recruits staff for wealthy families from Russia, including native speakers of foreign languages. Clients include both small business owners and oligarchs from the Russian Forbes list. Investigators from the Dossier Project found among the advertisements seeking employees one that they believe offers work for the Putin family. 

“The family lives in isolation,” reads an ad on the agency's website.  

But as the investigation notes getting to Putin can literally be done from the street. 

“(...) the vacancy was published in the public domain, anyone could respond. For example, in early 2024, a family was looking for a live-in English teacher for two boys, ages four and eight.  The job is five days a week, for a total of 60 hours. Duties include “teaching other subjects” and accompanying them on trips. The salary is 7,700 euros a month. The agency specifies that it has been cooperating with this family for a long time and has already found several English and German teachers for them”, - writes ‘Dossier’.

What sets this ad apart from the usual English Nanny job postings is not only the generous remuneration. In addition, candidates with a South African passport will be given preference. Potential employees must also be willing to undergo medical tests during the first two weeks of employment. It is forbidden to leave the territory where the family lives.

“The only thing that changes is the age of the children. The family is constantly in need of new teachers, and the staff turnover is due to the fact that it is not easy to get along with the family, says a source from the staff. In addition, the market for foreigners willing to work in Russia, especially after the start of the war, is not so large, and many have heard about the strict conditions of isolation,” the investigators reported.

Interestingly, candidates from South Africa are favored because this country is perceived as friendly to rf. 

“No matter how a candidate finds out about the vacancy, through acquaintances or through an agency, the main stage of selection is a video interview with the family assistant. After that - a thorough medical examination and two weeks of quarantine, which takes place at the Igora resort in the Leningrad region or immediately in Putin's residences in Valdai or Sochi,” the investigation says.” 

Foreign employees, as the investigators found, are registered through “My Medical Center” (MMC) - a network of medical clinics. As reported in the material from 2016 it treated fighters from the “Wagner group” who were injured in Syria, in Libya and in the war in Ukraine. In the same clinic, in a premises in the center of St. Petersburg on Malaya Konyushennaya Street, many friends and acquaintances of Vladimir Putin, as well as escorts, are treated in the same clinic. 

“Since 2020, at least 10 foreign language teachers have signed a contract with IMC.  Formally, they contracted for the services of an interpreter, but each receives substantially more than a qualified linguist could expect.  Salaries start at 330,000 rubles and go up to 1.2 million rubles a month,” the investigation says.

In addition to South African nationals, whom the family preferred to hire after the war began, British subjects and New Zealand citizens also signed contracts. 

“Teachers and coaches have almost no direct interaction with the family, says the Dossier interviewee. If teachers need something, they communicate with family assistants. The assistants transmit messages from parents: it can be both gratitude for the work done and wishes about the learning process. The messages have two authors. Most often, about once a week, the governesses receive messages from Olesya. Olesya pretends to be the children's mother and meets the governesses in person when they are hired. In reality, she is a cousin of the real mom, Alina Kabaeva. Significantly less often, a few times a year, there are messages from the family. The source believes that in this case they come from Vladimir Putin himself”, - is indicated in the material.

Western influences and routines 

Thanks to a source in Putin's residence, journalists have learned that his eldest son Ivan prefers Disney cartoons and, to his parents' displeasure, plays pretending to be their characters.  

“They have to play mostly alone or together with adults who are constantly around the poutine sons. They see their parents only late at night, and their peers mostly on holidays.

Both at Valdai and when traveling, children and staff live nearby. The sons live in the main house with their parents, the governesses and coaches live in separate buildings, special buildings are set aside for classes, and all these facilities are located within walking distance.  But no one travels on foot: the brothers have their own cars with drivers, the teachers and servants have separate cars. Moreover, at Valdai, a part of the staff is forbidden to walk on the territory, all movements are only by means of transportation”, - ‘Dossier’ specifies.

The children are brought to the teachers and nannies at 8 or 9 o'clock in the morning, and they all have breakfast together.  Until a few years ago, the youngest child was handled only by nannies, but now he is also being matched with governesses. There are four nannies, some of them used to be cleaners at the residence in Valdai and live in a nearby community.  They work in pairs for two weeks at a time and live with the family for that time, then go home and are replaced by two other nannies. The shifts were 12 hours each during the day. 

After breakfast, there are 30-45 minute lessons, followed by games. The children at Valdai have two ponies, rabbits and a St. Bernard at their disposal, which is looked after by two FSO cynologists. Among the toys are a large-scale collection of Lego constructors and iPads - not only for games, but also for video sessions. Around noon, the children eat, followed by an afternoon nap, and upon awakening, activities and sports. After 8 p.m., the children are picked up by drivers and go to bed almost immediately.

“The parents probably assume that the children will follow in their mother's footsteps and become professional athletes. Almost every residence has a sports complex with a gymnastics hall and a swimming pool, and sometimes with a hockey court. Personal coaches for swimming and gymnastics work with the children. For example, the eldest son is coached by a former member of the national gymnastics team.  However, so far Ivan Putin's successes are modest. His peers, with whom he periodically performs at competitions, are already noticeably different from him physically and receive higher scores from the judges,” the investigation says.

The children have their own personal chefs who cook them individual meals. Like Vladimir Putin, his sons have their own mugs and drink only from them. The children are always guarded by guards from among the officers of the president's security service, the main division of the FSO. 

However, as Dosier reports, security at Valdai is not as strictly enforced as one might think. 

“On days when Putin is not at the residence, the guards feel a little more relaxed, says a staff source. Therefore, it is possible to enter the territory without even showing documents. The servants do not take away cell phones, and when moving may not check personal belongings,” the investigation reported. 

Witnesses to the “family idyll” 

“Sometimes other children do show up at the residence - often Kabaeva's friends who, like everyone else, have to spend two weeks in quarantine. They mostly come to Valdai for holidays, but the Dosier source has seen some of the children come more often. Another witness to Putin's family life is Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. In February 2021, he went skiing with Vladimir Putin in Sochi. At that time in Krasnaya Polyana lived Kabaeva and her sons, says the interlocutor of the “Dossier”. And in July 2023, the family visited the only built Museum of Naval Glory in Kronstadt. At the same time, Lukashenka was in the museum,” the investigation says.

Putin, as the investigation notes, does not spend much time with his family. But sometimes he plays hockey with his eldest son. Then they are joined on the field by members of the FSO. 

Shadow fleet, armored train and private jets 

Investigators write that as they were able to establish, the family used three vessels for one of their trips around Russia.  

“Graceful” is the largest, with a sportswoman and her children on board, joined briefly by Putin himself. The second yacht is slightly smaller, and children were brought on board every morning at around 8 o'clock. There they studied with teachers, and in the evening at about 10 o'clock they returned back. The third boat was the smallest, with only staff on board. The vessels were kept far apart so as not to attract attention, but were close enough that the children could be transferred from one ship to another with a small boat,” the investigation said. 

In addition to yachts and an armored train, the family has several airplanes and helicopters at its disposal. The source provided the Dossier with photos and videos taken on board the aircrafts. In two cases, the flight numbers got into the frame - these are airplane RA-09609 and helicopter RA-22377. The first number belongs to a Dassault Falcon 900LX business jet. It is owned by Gazprom avia, and operated by Russair and Jetlet Airlines, which are part of the group of legal entities of Yuri Kovalchuk and his partners in Bank Rossiya.  The airlines also lease and maintain:

• two Dassault Falcon 7X business jets , one of which belongs to the Rossiya special flight unit;

• Dassault Falcon 8X jet;

• Russia's new Tu-204;

• two Anglo-Italian AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters ;

• two Franco-German Eurocopter EC 145 helicopters ;

• four Russian Mi-8 helicopters .

Seasonal pastime 

“The family spends most of the year in Valdai, and celebrates New Year's Eve there. The schedule changes little from year to year. In February and March - alpine skiing in Sochi, at which time the family moves to Achipse. This is probably Putin's second favorite residence, told “Dosier” escaped from Russia FSO officer Gleb Karakulov. In July and August - boat trips: previously, these could be long outings to the sea, but with the outbreak of war, the route is limited to safe waters - the Gulf of Finland, the Black Sea coast and lakes in the north of the country. In 2024, such an outing was in mid-July: Graceful left the port of St. Petersburg at that time, satellite imagery suggests, and Nega was sailing along the Svir River toward Lake Ladoga on July 15. Putin himself met with Alexander Lukashenko in late July at the Valaam Monastery,” Dossier writes.

In August, the dictator's family lives in temporarily occupied Crimea - at the state dacha No. 6 in the village of Oliva, in the fall may move to Sochi, to the residence “Bocharov Ruchei”.

Most trips take all teachers and place them in residence. But on some trips the family goes with limited staff - one or two teachers and a coach. It is difficult to accommodate more people, for example, in Putin's residence in Karelia, on yachts or in armored train. Dosier source heard that the family uses special train, on trips they were accompanied by music teacher Polina Trukhan, who had to not only study with the eldest son, but also entertain the family playing the piano.