For nearly twenty-five years, Vladimir Putin has presented himself as the austere guardian of Russia — a man of discipline, duty, and order. His public image has been meticulously crafted: a black-belt patriot, a protector of traditional values, and a leader immune to scandal.
However, a new exposé by Russian journalists Roman Badanin and Mikhail Rubin lifts the curtain on that myth. Their book, “The Tsar Himself: How Vladimir Putin Deceived Us All”, delves into the private life of one of the world’s most secretive leaders — and what it reveals is not merely gossip, but a parallel system of power built on secrecy, loyalty, and deception.
The man Behind the myth
Badanin and Rubin’s investigation traces Putin’s journey from his days in the KGB to his rapid rise through the political ranks of post-Soviet St. Petersburg. The story is familiar — the disciplined operative turned statesman — but the book argues that behind the public narrative lies something more complex: a man obsessed with control, not only of the state but of his own personal mythology.
By the time Putin reached the presidency in 2000, his image was already that of a family man — married to Lyudmila, father of two daughters, a model of stability amid the chaos of Russia’s post-Soviet years. Yet, as the authors document, the president’s private life told another story, one that has long been off-limits to Russian journalists.
The cleaner who became a millionaire
One of the book’s central revelations concerns Svetlana Krivonogikh, a former cleaner from St. Petersburg who allegedly began a relationship with Putin in the late 1990s, when he was deputy mayor.
In 2003, Krivonogikh gave birth to a daughter, Luiza Rozova, whose patronymic name — Vladimirovna — hints at the identity of her father. While the Kremlin has never confirmed the connection, forensic analysis cited by the authors found striking physical similarities between the girl and Putin.
Soon after, Krivonogikh’s fortunes changed dramatically. The Pandora Papers later revealed that she owned luxury properties in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and an apartment in Monaco worth £2.9 million ($3.9) — all part of an offshore portfolio valued at nearly £78 million ($104.8).
For Badanin and Rubin, the story encapsulates a recurring pattern: proximity to the president translates into privilege, and silence is rewarded with wealth.
Putin’s mistress and the mother of his third daughter has not yet fallen under US sanctions 🤬#Putin’s former girlfriend, Svetlana Krivonogikh, is a shareholder in Bank Rossiya and the National Media Group, which consistently promotes the invasion of #Ukraine.
Krivonogikh… pic.twitter.com/sZ6W8Xu9eP
— The Anti-Corruption Foundation (@ACF_int) July 15, 2024
The gymnast who became Russia’s “Secret First Lady”
Perhaps the most notorious of Putin’s alleged relationships is with Alina Kabaeva, the rhythmic gymnastics star who won Olympic gold for Russia in 2004. Introduced to Putin shortly after her victory, Kabaeva soon became a national celebrity — and, according to the book, a central figure in his private world.
By the late 2000s, rumors of a romance had reached fever pitch. When a Moscow tabloid reported that the pair were planning to marry, security agents raided the paper’s offices and forced its closure. The editor was dismissed; the subject became untouchable.
Badanin and Rubin allege that Kabaeva went on to have two sons with the Russian leader. In 2014, as Putin finalized his divorce from Lyudmila, Kabaeva was appointed head of the National Media Group, a pro-Kremlin conglomerate with an annual salary of roughly £7.7 million ($10.3 million).
For years, she has lived largely out of public view — sometimes rumored to be in Switzerland, sometimes in Sochi — a modern echo of the tsar’s hidden consort.
The calendar girl and the Kremlin’s code of loyalty
The book also recounts the story of Alisa Kharcheva, a 17-year-old student who appeared in a “birthday calendar” dedicated to Putin in 2010. According to the authors, she later moved in elite circles and enjoyed privileges far beyond her age or status.
Whether or not Kharcheva’s connection to Putin was personal, the episode illustrates a deeper theme: the culture of personal loyalty that defines his inner circle. In Putin’s Russia, Badanin and Rubin argue, relationships are transactional, discretion is currency, and proximity to power determines one’s fate.
Putin had an underage lover, — BILD
▪️ Russian investigators revealed the story of Alisa Kharcheva from Korolyov, who, in 2010, appeared in an erotic calendar dedicated to Putin’s birthday. At the time, she was 17 years old and was trying to get into the journalism faculty at… pic.twitter.com/20T2AM7uC9
— Nationalist van de Ostseeküst (@HroNationalist) September 21, 2025
A System Built on Secrecy
The authors suggest that Putin’s private world is not a footnote to his politics, but a reflection of how he governs. The same secrecy that shields his personal life extends to the workings of the Russian state — an opaque system where friends, family, and former security officers hold the levers of wealth and influence.
“The myth of moral leadership,” they write, “is the foundation of his power. To question it is to question the state itself.”
The Kremlin’s response has been silence. For years, Putin has dismissed questions about his family with irritation, insisting that the private sphere is “off limits.” Yet his control over that boundary — deciding what can and cannot be known — is precisely what sustains his authority.
The personal as political
“The Tsar Himself” goes beyond the gossip of hidden children and secret lovers. It paints a broader picture of a regime where intimacy is political, and where the private and public selves of the president merge into a single instrument of control.
Every detail — from the image of the bare-chested outdoorsman to the enforced silence around his family — serves a purpose: to construct an unassailable myth of strength and purity.
In that sense, Putin’s personal life mirrors the system he built — closed, loyal, and governed by fear.
A dangerous portrait
The Tsar Himself: How Vladimir Putin Deceived Us All is unlikely to be published in Russia anytime soon. Both authors now live in exile, continuing their investigative work abroad. Their book is not merely a catalogue of scandals — it’s a psychological study of power.
By peeling back the layers of secrecy surrounding Vladimir Putin, Badanin and Rubin reveal a leader who governs as he lives: through control, concealment, and myth.
Behind the Kremlin’s walls, they argue, lies not just a man — but a system built in his image.
