According to a report, Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly expecting a daughter with his alleged lover, gymnast Alina Kabaeva.
Putin, 69, was reportedly not “pleased” to learn that Kabaeva, a 39-year-old former Olympic gymnast who was romantically linked to the Russian leader, is pregnant and having a daughter, according to the anonymously-run Telegram account General SVR. Newsweek was unable to independently verify the allegation.
General SVR is an anonymous Telegram channel allegedly run by a former agent of Russia’s foreign intelligence service.
“We have previously reported that Alina Kabaeva, the Russian President’s partner, is pregnant,” the post reads. “Yesterday the gender of the unborn child became known – this is a girl.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) presents flowers to Alina Kabayeva, the Russian star of rhythmic gymnastics and Olympic medalist, after awarding her an Order of Friendship at the annual awards ceremony in the Kremlin June 8, 2001. SERGEI CHIRIKOV/AFP/Getty Images
According to the Post, the news of Kabaeva’s pregnancy “didn’t please the future father and president of Russia at all,” who also reportedly said he had “enough children already and more daughters.”
The anonymous poster claimed that Putin, expressing dissatisfaction with the pregnancy, “very upset Alina Maratovna” by using Kabaeva’s first and middle names.
The Telegram channel claimed in May that Kabaeva became pregnant.
“Putin found out that his lover is pregnant again – and it looks like it wasn’t planned,” it said at the time.
As Newsweek’s Fact Check team previously reported, while the Telegram channel has a large following and is widely cited in Western media, it has presented no evidence of its self-proclaimed affiliation with former or current Russian intelligence officials or the country’s security apparatus.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.
Putin, who divorced his then-wife Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Ocheretnaya in 2013 after 30 years of marriage, has denied having had a romantic relationship with Kabaeva. The former gymnast also declined to confirm rumors that she is or has been in a relationship with the Russian leader.
Rumors of an alleged relationship between the two have been circulating for years. Kabaeva has been dubbed “Russia’s first mistress” and “secret first lady.”
In 2008, the Russian newspaper Moskovsky Korrespondent was shut down just days after it reported that Putin had plans to divorce Lyudmila for Kabaeva.
Previous Western media reports, citing anonymous sources, claimed that Kabaeva shares two young sons with Putin, as well as twin girls who were born in 2015. It has also been claimed that Kabaeva and her children are currently residing in Switzerland, although Newsweek has not been able to independently verify the lawsuit.
Kabaeva has won two Olympic medals and also received 14 medals at World Championships and 21 medals at European Championships.