May 15, 2026

Revolt Against Putin Mistress


Revolt Against Putin Mistress
Alina Kabaeva decorated with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland by President Vladimir Putin IN 2005. Kremlin.ru

The independent publication Agency recently released the article “I Hate Kabaeva,” the headline a comment pulled from a social media post. The article pointed to a famous former gymnast whose personal influence may be impacting the integrity of Russian competitors.

Alina Kabaeva is the outstanding Russian gymnast who won the European Championship at age 15, earning her a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records, and went on to become an Olympic champion. Her athletic achievements date back to the early 2000s, while today, she is known primarily for her relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both parties deny the relationship, but it is common knowledge that Kabaeva is the Russian president’s unofficial wife and the mother of his youngest children.

After retiring from competitive gymnastics in 2007, Kabaeva worked in televisionand was involved in social and political activities, then she essentially disappeared from public life. She returned in 2022 to announce the creation of an international rhythmic gymnastics club association called “Sky Grace,” and opened a school of the same name.

As Meduza reported last year, this school has been granted unique powers that no other similar organization possesses. Tournaments and the awarding of athletic titles are conducted according to its own rules, and it has its own competition calendar, as if Sky Grace were a separate sport. What's more, a scandal is linked to the school. 

It stems from the 42nd European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, which will take place in May in Varna, Bulgaria. It is one of the first major international tournaments where Russian athletes will be able compete since the start of Russia’s War on Ukraine. Although they will compete under a neutral flag, this is a major event for Russian rhythmic gymnastics.  

But after the list of participants was announced, it became clear that it was dominated by names from Sky Grace. According to insiders cited by Agency, this distribution of spots on the national team “does not reflect the gymnasts’ actual skill level or the results they achieved in recent competitions.”

Hundreds of posts appeared, not only accusing Kabaeva of using her administrative influence, but also brimming with irritation and hatred that seemed to have been building for a long time. People posted that this is “no longer tolerable” and that, given Kabaeva’s unspoken status, it is unlikely that anything can be done to fix it, that she “does whatever she wants,” and that no lawyer would take on the case.

On the one hand, all of this is merely outrage over certain processes within a professional athletic community. Yet, against the backdrop of growing discontent in the country, it appears symptomatic and carries a fairly clear political subtext. It is therefore not surprising that one of the most popular and frequently quoted comments surrounding the scandal is the phrase, “I don’t think Kabaeva will come to her senses. It runs in the family.”

 

You Might Also Like

Toiletries Instead of Tech
  • February 26, 2026

Toiletries Instead of Tech

Russian officials were quick to criticize the meager gifts given to Russian athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics. 
Sanctioning Romance
  • August 06, 2022

Sanctioning Romance

Alina Kabaeva, Vladimir Putin's alleged romantic partner, has been sanctioned by the US Treasury. 
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955