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‘Fake name Vladimir Putin gave to hidden sons with gymnast revealed' as tyrant's boys seen in footage for first time
VLADIMIR Putin is said to have given fake names to his alleged secret children with his hidden Olympic gymnast lover, according to an investigation.
New footage appears to show Putin's alleged youngest sons for the first time.
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Vladimir Spiridonov, now six, Vladimir Putin's son with partner Alina Kabaeva
Credit: East2West
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Vladimir Spiridonov, now six, Vladimir Putin's son with partner Alina Kabaeva
Credit: East2West
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Ivan Spiridonov, now ten, second from the right, Vladimir Putin's son with partner Alina Kabaeva
Credit: East2West
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Since 2008, Putin and his presumed young mistress have been romantically linked
Credit: East2West
Putin hides his two youngest children under a fake surname, according to a new book by two Russian investigative journalists.
The dictator, 72, is said to have a secret family with Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, 42, with sons aged ten and six.
However, their alleged 15-year relationship has never been publicly acknowledged - and the Russian state media has banned any mention of links between the two.
The book, called The Tsar in Person: How Vladimir Putin Fooled Us All, reveals that the family name given to the boys by ex-spy Putin is Spiridonov.
Putin's alleged secret sons sons Ivan, ten, and Vladimir junior, six - both keen young gymnasts - are known by this surname rather than their real name.
A clip believed to be the first footage of Putin's younger son appears to show him at his elite gymnastics academy, proudly showing off new somersault moves.
The video also reportedly shows 10-year-old Evan being interviewed and speaking about 'just cool' new gymnastics moves he learned with Olympic coach Alexei Nemov.
Russian investigative journalists Roman Badanin and Mikhail Rubin claim in their book that both the boys live with Kabaeva on the estate of Putin's secret palace at Valdai, between Moscow and St Petersburg.
The place is known to be a forested fortress guarded by a dozen or more Pantsir air defence systems.
Neither the children nor the palace has ever been officially declared by Putin to ordinary Russians.
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A passage from the book reads: "Information about the gymnast and her children is erased from state databases, the boys were given a cover surname — Spiridonov, and all the territory around the Valdai dwelling of the tsar's family is strictly guarded.
'However sometimes Ivan and Vladimir all the same have appeared in public, thanks to which their photographs are at our disposal.'
Spiridonov appears to be a family name linked to the first name of Putin's colourful paternal grandfather, Spiridon Putin, who lived from 1879 to 1965.
He was the personal chef for Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Soviet Union, before preparing meals for tyrant Josef Stalin in the Kremlin.
Co-author Badanin defended the decision to disclose the names and photographs of the Putin children 'because he is the president of the country'.
Inside mysterious & glam life of Putin's gymnast lover
By Iona Cleave and Will Stewart
RUSASIA'S so-called "First Mistress", Alina Kabaeva, 40, lives a continuous life of glamour and mystery but has allegedly spent recent months holed up inside Putin's secret forest palace.
Since 2008, the brunette bombshell has been the target of sustained speculation that she is Putin's secret lover and the mother of his youngest kids.
The gymnast-turned-politician is now rumoured to be missing in the wake of last month's bizarre reports Putin had croaked.
Public appearances by the despot's young mistress halted in the last week of October - the same day the rumours broke that Putin had suffered a heart attack.
The woman that has never shied from the spotlight appears to have gone to ground.
Alina, who is 31 years younger than Putin, shot to fame as "Russia's most flexible woman" after picking up hoards of international medals for gymnastics in her teens.
She went on to win Gold at the 2004 Athens Games and Bronze at the 2000 in Sydney.
The now 40-year-old is one of most decorated gymnasts in history, with 2 Olympic medals, 14 World Championship medals, and 21 European Championship medals.
She would later lose six of her World Championship medals for doping.
Her celebrity status was fully secured after she posed naked for a men's magazine in 2004.
In heavy makeup and partially draped in fur, the nude sporting star smiled provocatively at the camera.
Photographer Mikhail Korolov commented: 'I didn't even need to persuade her. She behaved very naturally. She's full of sex.'
After retiring from gymnastics, Alina threw herself into a quickly-developed career in politics.
She became a member of the Russian Parliament between 2007 and 2014, representing the United Russia party and voting for various controversial anti-LGBT laws.
It was quite the career move for a woman who had dabbled in modelling and singing.
The Olympic legend was later appointed chair of Moscow's most important pro-Kremlin TV and newspaper empire, National Media Group — despite having no experience.
Throughout the years, it appears that Putin's presumed lover has somewhat relished her role as "the uncrowned queen of Russia" - or at least enjoyed the gossip behind it.
Speaking on a YouTube show Popular Politics, he said: 'In any other situation, if he were a private individual, if he were a lower-level official, we probably wouldn't have done it.
'But it's simple - his life should be in plain sight. He signed up for it in 1999 once he accepted power.'
Co-author Mikhail said: 'It's part of a politician's job to be public and show his family.
'Why are children a secret then? What is shameful about children…?'
Putin's three daughters, who are no more a secret, also use family names which mask their identities.
Maria, 40, is known by the name Vorontsova, and Katerina, 38, uses Tikhonova.
Putin's love child, Luiza, 22, uses the surname Rosova, but is also known as Elizaveta Krivonogikh, her mother Svetlana's family name.
Luiza also has a passport under the name Rudnova, the family name of a now-dead close Putin friend.
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A young woman named Elizaveta Krivonogikh has reportedly been identified as Vladimir Putin's third daughter
Credit: East2West
