Alina Kabaeva

About Alina Kabaeva

Alina Maratovna Kabaeva (or Kabayeva) (Russian Cyrillic: Алина Маратовна Кабаева; Tatar Cyrillic: Әлинә Марат кызы Кабаева) is a Russian-Uzbek politician, media manager and retired individual rhythmic gymnast, who has been designated Honoured Master of Sports by the Russian government.

Kabaeva is one of the most decorated gymnasts in rhythmic gymnastic history, with 2 Olympic medals, 14 World Championship medals, and 21 European Championship medals.

In 2001, Kabaeva appeared in the Japanese movie, Red Shadow, performing a gymnastics routine.

From 2007 to 2014, Kabaeva was a State Duma deputy from United Russia. In September 2014, Kabaeva became the chairwoman of the board of directors of the National Media Group.

In January 2011, Kabaeva appeared on the cover of Vogue Russia. In the same month, she launched her singing career, taking to the stage for the first time.

In April 2008, the Moskovsky Korrespondent reported that Kabaeva was engaged to Russian president Vladimir Putin. The story was denied and the newspaper was shut down. In the following years, the status of Kabaeva and Putin's relationship became a topic of speculation, including allegations that they have multiple children together.

In July 2013, Kabaeva said that she did not have children. In March 2015, she was reported to have given birth to a daughter at the VIP hospital of Saint Ann in Ticino, Switzerland. In 2019, she reportedly gave birth to twin sons at the Kulakov maternity clinic in Moscow. However, the Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung reported in 2022 that a Swiss gynecologist of Russian origin assisted at both births, stating that the first in 2015 was of a boy and the second in 2019 of another boy, and that both were Putin's sons.

According to United States and European security officials, Kabaeva has spent long periods of time in Switzerland since 2015, at residences in Lugano and Cologny.