Former gymnast, ex-deputy, head of Russian media holding. In addition to all this, Alina Kabaeva, apparently, has won the heart of Vladimir Putin. And it has been going on for more than ten years, writes the journalist of the French newspaper Le Figaro Baptiste Erondel.

Russian media, who risked talking about the divorce of Vladimir Putin and his alleged idyll with Alina Kabaeva, broke their teeth on it. "I have always been bad about those who with some sort of flu nose and with their erotic fantasies climb into someone else's life," - laconically said in 2008, the Russian president. His leitmotif has always remained more than clear: pass by, there is nothing to dig in my personal life. Nevertheless, in his entourage from the shadows constantly appeared the name of one woman. This is Alina Kabaeva, she is 34 years old and she is thirty years younger than the former KGB agent, an ex-gymnast who became a deputy, and then rose to the rank of media magnate, reads the article.

At the age of 15, Alina Kabaeva won the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships. Local media reveled in the athletic achievements of this gymnast, "fallen from the sky". Further in the same form of competitions followed 16 prizes of the champion of Europe, 9 ranks of the world champion, 3 ranks of the vice-champion. And a gold medal at the Olympics in Athens in 2004, the author.

The book of honor "the most flexible woman in Russia" was still damaged by accusations of doping. In 2001, she was disqualified, and her reputation was spoiled. Having lost favor with the public, Alina Kabaeva finally stopped rhythmic gymnastics seven years later and turned her attention to politics, and then to business, the journalist writes..

Due to political responsibilities and high-level entrepreneurial activity, Alina Kabaeva increasingly appears along with Vladimir Putin. The duet with a difference in the age of 31 years, in particular, flaunts on solemn dinners. In 2009, the rumor began about the wedding, fueled by the presence of the wedding ring on the left hand of the former gymnast and the absence in her life of the well-known spouse. Hearing was soon suppressed. The Russian president, true to his line of conduct, publicly stated, "that there is not a word of truth in this," the author points out..

The gossips intensified at the time of the birth of Alina Kabaeva's children, in particular, her daughter in March 2013. During this period, Vladimir Putin first disappeared without explanation for 11 days. Did he go to Switzerland to take care of his mother and take the newborn? Is he a father? In the Instagram account of the ex-deputy there are no tips. Only archives of her past demonstration performances as a gymnast, as well as images of official ceremonies. Vladimir Putin appears there several times. Which gives grounds for suspicion of this connection for many more months. So will it continue until its official recognition? - asks Erondel.