VLADIMIR Putin has given fake names to his secret children with his Olympic gymnast lover, according to an investigation.
Putin hides his two youngest children under a fake surname, according to a new book by two Russian investigative journalists.
And new footage appears to show Putin’s youngest sons for the first time.
The dictator, 72, is said to have a secret family with Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, 42, with sons aged ten and six.
The alleged 15-year relationship between the individuals has never been openly recognized, and Russian state media has prohibited any discussion of their connection.
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 supposed secret sons, Ivan and Vladimir Junior, who are ten and six years old respectively and both enthusiastic gymnasts, are known by an alternate surname instead of their actual one.
A video, thought to be the first visual of Putin’s younger son, seemingly captures him at a prestigious gymnastics academy, proudly displaying his new somersault skills.
The video purportedly also features 10-year-old Ivan being interviewed, where he talks about “just cool” new gymnastics techniques he learned with Olympic coach Alexei Nemov.
Russian investigative writers Roman Badanin and Mikhail Rubin allege in their book that both boys reside with Kabaeva on the grounds of Putin’s secret residence at Valdai, situated 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.
A section of the book mentions: “Details about the gymnast and her children are removed from state records, the boys have been assigned a different surname — Spiridonov, and the area surrounding the Valdai residence of the tsar’s family is heavily secured.”
“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.
