Free Republic

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife, Lyudmila, have announced that they have separated and their marriage is over. The 60-year-old and his 55-year-old wife broke the news of the end of the 29-year marriage in an obviously staged TV interview after a night at the ballet that made no mention of Putin's alleged mistress, former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabayeva, 30. Asked on Rossiya-24 television about longstanding rumours that the Putins no longer lived together, the 60-year-old Putin said: 'That is true.' But neither clarified whether they were legally divorced and Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said he did not know....

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his long-suffering wife, Lyudmila, are ending their nearly 30-year marriage, they announced on state television Thursday in a tone of mutual indifference. “We practically never saw each other,” Putin told a reporter from the Rossiya 24 network as he and his soon-to-be-ex-wife departed a Kremlin ballet performance. “To each his own life.” Russia’s first couple gave little explanation of why they chose to end the marriage now, other than the president’s assertion that “it was our joint decision.” … The couple’s infrequent public appearances have sparked wild media reports and speculation. One particularly steady rumor...