Investigations
State Corporation “Alina”
How the authorities ensure the maintenance of the main woman of the country
This text was created by the "Point Media" team and published on Explainer — our team's new website.
How the authorities ensure the maintenance of the main woman of the country
Songs are dedicated to her, she’s gifted land plots on Rublyovka and real estate in Sochi, streets are named after her. Her heart belongs to one of the most powerful people on the planet, who unleashed war in Ukraine with hundreds of thousands killed. Today she is the whole of Russia. Her name is Alina Kabaeva. “Tochka” and “MO” obtained documents on Alina Kabaeva’s lifetime earnings and found out what pension is guaranteed to Vladimir Putin’s secret beloved.
– Hello.
– Hello.
– What’s your name?
– Alina Kabaeva.
– What do you do?
– Rhythmic gymnastics.
– And what do you do in your free time?
– I like dancing, playing billiards, bowling, socializing with friends. I really love my friends and what I do.
Alina Kabayeva
In 2022, on the YouTube channel “Nullye ot Pavlika,” a previously unseen video featuring Alina Kabaeva surfaced. Allegedly shot in 2003 at the capital’s “Titanic” club – one of the epicenters of Moscow’s nightlife in the late ’90s–early ’00s. Kabaeva had barely turned 20. But she had already chosen her path in life.
– Do you have a special someone? – the interviewer asks.
– Well, I can’t say a “special someone,” – Kabaeva hesitated.
– So you’re single?
– Not exactly single. Of course, there is someone who loves me very much, – the gymnast concluded.
Rumors say that in the late ’90s Kabaeva had a romance with singer Murat Nasyrov. An NTV archival clip remains online—a concert recording where Nasyrov dances with Kabaeva performing the song “Alina.” Among the lyrics is the line “Don’t cry, my Alina.”
In 2007, Nasyrov died mysteriously, falling from a window. Tabloids suggested foul play, claiming he had no motive for suicide. “It’s definitely murder!” his brother Nadzhat told “Tvoy Den.” However, no concrete evidence surfaced—either of a relationship with Kabaeva or of murder. Instead, attention shifted to her alleged romance with Vladimir Putin.
The first reports linking Alina Kabaeva and Vladimir Putin appeared in the press in 2008, when the newspaper “Moskovsky Korrespondent” published an article titled “Will Putin and Kabaeva marry on Trinity Sunday?”
At the time, Kabaeva was a member of United Russia’s supreme council and one of the signatories supporting Khodorkovsky’s arrest—well embedded in the Kremlin elite. The article reported Putin’s impending divorce from Lyudmila and his upcoming marriage to Kabaeva on June 15 (Trinity Sunday). Pressure followed swiftly: banker Alexander Lebedev, the paper’s owner, was targeted, and two weeks later publication was suspended, then closed in October permanently. Lebedev cited finances, but 14 years later in Forbes admitted he’d been “in disgrace.”
Later at a press conference in Italy with Silvio Berlusconi, Putin didn’t deny ties to the gymnast, saying he loves “all women of Russia” and calling both Lyudmila and Kabaeva “beautiful and successful.” He then advised reporters to “not stick your flu-ish nose into others’ private lives.” Notably, the word “flu-ish” was used—according to Grigory Nekhoroshev, former editor-in-chief of “Moskovsky Korrespondent,” who commissioned the story. He said interrogators noticed his runny nose and reported it “all the way to the top”—Putin even quoted it later.
“On April 15 I buried my aunt. There was wind at the cemetery, and I returned to the car with a runny nose. After that conversation they told me to return the next day, this time for a lie-detector test… As soon as I came out, I called Lebedev and offered to resign… He said ‘no, I don’t know what’s going on.’ I believed him—but when Putin mentioned the flu-ish nose, I realized what it was,” recalled Nekhoroshev.
He also says they threatened to take his apartment, and Lebedev faced intense pressure—eventually shutting the paper.
“Lebedev summoned me: ‘What are you doing?’ There was no public reaction yet, but Patrushev had already invited him and offered security. Lebedev said he already had his own, but was told it wasn’t enough because Putin’s private life is protected by FSO, which is in competition with FSB… ‘Of course we understood we were at risk, but not to that degree. It was a different time,’” Nekhoroshev said.
On the children’s show “One Hundred Questions to an Adult,” Kabaeva also admitted she was in a relationship with some “young man” (Putin was then 55). She also mentioned giving him a distinctive gift.
“It was an Alaska-style shearling coat—with fur,” the gymnast said. Putin was later seen in public wearing such a coat.
By 2014 it was widely accepted that Kabaeva was Putin’s chosen partner. A year after his official divorce, amidst pregnancy rumors, she left the Duma and became chairwoman of the board of the National Media Group (which includes Channel One, STS-Media, Izvestia, etc.)—effectively a top figure in Kremlin-controlled television.
After leaving the Duma, Kabaeva finally pursued her dream—a family.
The first rumors of Putin–Kabaeva children emerged in 2015, when Swiss newspaper *Neue Zürcher Zeitung* reported births at the private Sant’Anna clinic near Lugano, claiming Putin was the father. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov firmly denied it.
Again in spring 2022, both The Wall Street Journal and Swiss SonntagsZeitung reported Kabaeva had her first son in Lugano in 2015, and a second in Moscow four years later. A year later, Proekt located the Swiss midwife and doctors who delivered both children—and even took a joint photo at the 2019 Victory Day parade on the VIP stand by the Mausoleum, inaccessible to regular Russians.
Kabayeva's doctors
Evidence suggests Kabaeva and the children live at Putin’s Valdai residence. Among it is a large playground installed between 2016–2020—after the first child’s birth.
In summer 2024, the investigative center *Dossier* spoke with a resident employee at the Valdai estate, who described life of Putin’s sons—eldest Ivan and younger Vladimir.
“The children are constantly surrounded by staff—in a sense, they’re in a golden cage. In the evening their father might come and play hockey with them. Usually it’s Vladimir Putin and Ivan Putin. This is how their days go; they don’t often see their parents but cherish their father’s attention,” said Ilya Rozhdestvensky from *Dossier*.
Investigators say sometimes Kabaeva and the children leave Valdai—taking yachts on Putin’s lakes, spending time at his Sochi residence or Crimean state dacha. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko witnessed their family life—skiing with them in Sochi in Feb 2021 and visiting the Kronstadt Naval Museum in Jul 2023. Both times, Putin was accompanied by his secret family, *Dossier* sources report. Ordinary Russians likely never see his offspring.
“Putin has often said not to stick your nose into someone’s private life… He successfully concealed that his marriage ended long before the divorce was made official. But it’s obvious his relationship with Kabaeva has gone on for 15–20 years. And all these years… he pretended nothing was happening, even though the whole country knows,” Rozhdestvensky said.
Journalists say there’s no reason to believe Putin will suddenly display his sons.
Some readers might ask: what’s wrong with that? Putin has a right to private life like any Russian. But here’s the catch—budget money funds his secret family’s lavish lifestyle. Kabaeva’s house was built in a state residence, her real estate gifted by Putin’s cronies who earn from state contracts, and she’s paid by companies peddling propaganda. More on Kabaeva’s money in the next chapter.
It’s no secret that Alina Kabaeva is one of Russia’s wealthiest women. But all her money and assets are hidden. Her penthouses and mansions are registered to various nominees and offshore entities. She doesn’t report her income, despite essentially acting as the first lady. Still, official documents show she owns several apartments in Moscow and St. Petersburg and two mansions.
Public records on her life are scarce, especially now that the Russian government has classified everything. However, we obtained a rare document listing Kabaeva’s lifelong income. It’s an SZI‑6 form from the Pension Fund—detailing employment history, pension contributions, and salary. Every working Russian—Kabaeva included—has one.
The document shows her career began in 1998 at the “Educational‑Methodological and Medical Center.” Later she worked at the “Center for Training the Russian National Teams,” preparing athletes for competitions. That summer she competed in Sydney Olympics, but made a major hoop error—earning bronze.
Interestingly, 2000–2001 records show Kabaeva was paid by military unit No. 16660 in Ramenskoye, under the Federal Protective Service (FSO), formed on a government communications battalion. Her earnings were modest—but it’s notable she was tied to the FSO at 17.
She then held typical positions: Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy, Training Center… In 2006 she joined Tatarstan’s Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Local officials said she signed an agreement in June to represent the republic in competitions, including the 2008 Beijing Olympics—without mentioning she’d be paid—though pension contributions suggest a deputy-Duma-level salary of ~8 million rubles.
In 2008 Kabaeva became a Duma deputy, earnt 9–14 million rubles annually. This started her meteoric rise, peaking in 2014 as chair of the National Media Group. Leaked figures show her income: 54 million rubles in 2017; 785.4 million in 2018; down to 55 million in 2019; and 153 million in the first half of 2020—nearly 900 thousand rubles per day.
By early 2021, her pension savings stood at 770 thousand rubles, with a pension coefficient of 148 points—versus just 36 for one of this article’s authors.
In November 2024, at the “Heavenly Grace” cup, Kabaeva appeared in a Dior gown worth about €3,500—and that wasn’t her only luxury outfit.
Big money’s great—but in Russia real luxury equates to real estate. Kabaeva’s family owns so much it takes minutes to list:
From new plots in New Moscow, a flat on Prechistenka, a cottage in Kuban, apartments on Arbat, a suburban estate… Estimated value exceeds 8 billion rubles. Add at least 2 billion more in Sochi.
On the Black Sea coast lies Putin’s Bocharov Ruchey residence, just 30 km from a Rhythmic Gymnastics Center. Google’s map shows it belongs to Alina Kabaeva. Yandex is more discreet—but the American map is 100% correct.
In March 2023 Kabaeva became director of the “Heavenly Grace” association. It’s registered in the Sirius federal territory, on Triumph Street in Sochi—a law-created region with its own budget and assets since 2020.
The complex at Triumph St. 7—a 2.2 billion‑ruble building—was owned by Gazprom Investgazification LLC from Oct 2022. A month later it was sold to Gazprom’s Social Initiatives Support Fund, and in Jan 2023 gifted to the “Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy”—the legal entity of “Heavenly Grace” from its site.
According to a source at Gazprom, “the beneficiary of the deal is precisely Kabaeva—it’s no secret to employees.” Now the sports complex hosts secret events for Putin’s partner—broadcast by National Media Group, chaired by Kabaeva. She even has her own correspondent: Alexander Mostoslavsky of REN TV, who in recent years focuses mostly on events featuring Putin’s lover.
We counted that in 2024, NMG media (REN TV, Channel Five, Izvestia) aired 29 stories by Mostoslavsky—and all were about events organized by Alina Kabaeva.
