During her 30-year marriage, Lyudmila Putin was a victim of her husband. No, the Russian president never hit his wife, but day after day he "raised" her according to rules he knew only. He imposed his will on her to completely subdue the woman.
On June 6, 2013, Ludmila and Vladimir appeared at the ballet performance "Esmeralda", the theme of which is beautiful and romantic love. During the break, they gave a short interview to the Russian media and announced ... their divorce. They assured that the breakup took place in an atmosphere of friendship, and they remained close to each other. The reason for the divorce was the fact that the president's spouse did not like life in the spotlight and preferred to spend time in the privacy of her home . - This is how our paths diverged - summed up the president. But the truth is different….
My husband gives me exams all his life
The history of the Putins' marriage can be reconstructed on the basis of bits of information, incl. casual statements of the president herself or an interview that Ludmila (Luda) gave in 2002 to her husband's court biographer, journalist Oleg Błocki.
The president told about their engagements, the first years of marriage, and vacation trips. Her story was only a small fragment of the entire book, but it was still considered to defile the image of Vladimir . The entire circulation was immediately withdrawn and Błocki's career blocked.
Lyudmila and Vladimir Putin in 2002. Kremlin.ru/CC BY 3.0
The first meeting of the spouses took place on the steps of the Leningrad theater. Luda - then a 22-year-old blonde flight attendant from Kaliningrad - flew to her friend, who was invited to the theater by a friend. In order not to feel awkward, the girl took Lyudmila with her. For balance, the boy took another friend, who turned out to be 29-year-old Vladimir (Volodya) Putin. At first he concealed from his companion the fact that he was a KGB officer. He revealed the whole truth about himself after a year of acquaintance .
This is how their romance began, and Luda began to fly to Volodya. Their dating, which lasted over three years, was very long, according to Soviet customs. Years later, the president came to the conclusion that in this way the chosen one simply checked her, tested her patience in all possible ways, trying to feel what she could afford in their relationship. "My husband arranges exams for me all my life and watches if I can cope with the next challenge," she told Błocki.
Lyudmila, who at the beginning of the acquaintance had to fly from Kaliningrad to meet her beloved, came on dates at the appointed time, but Vladimir was late. Often even by an hour and a half. Photo from their wedding (Kremlin.ru/CC BY 3.0).
Example? Putin's notorious non-punctuality. Lyudmila, who at the beginning of the relationship had to fly from Kaliningrad to meet her beloved, came on dates at an agreed time, but Vladimir was late. Often even by an hour and a half . Even so, Luda kept coming on time, every time thinking that Putin would be here at the right time this time.
I'm standing in the subway, waiting. I feel great for the first 15 minutes of being late, half an hour is a piece of cake too, but when the hour passed and he was still gone, I started to cry. I had so many emotions that when it finally appeared, I didn't have the strength to explain anything anymore - she recalled years later.
Vladimir also did morality tests for his girlfriend, who moved to Leningrad after some time. She lives in old buildings on the outskirts of the city. She had no telephone and in the evening she called Vladimir from a pay phone.
Once, when she called at the agreed time - at 7 pm - Volodya's parents said that her son would be back at 9 pm She decided to take a walk. She noticed that a young man was following her. She quickened her pace, he did the same. A stranger ran up to her, wanted to meet her, literally begged for a phone number . The people, however, managed to free themselves from the intruder.
Ludmila in her youth
After some time, Volodya informed her that she was serving in the KGB. Then Luda recalled the incident and began to suspect that her fiancé had arranged for her a kind of fidelity test to check whether the potential wife of a security officer had a tendency to meet on the street. She repeatedly asked Putin if the insistent admirer was not his colleague, but Vladimir gave evasive answers.
Raise my wife
It was Putin who set the rhythm of Lyudmila's life and shaped her behavior. “One time we were at a party with friends. There was lively music, so I danced a lot and laughed. After the party, Volodya said that I was behaving vulgarly and that he cannot meet such a woman ”. Luda knew that when the beloved decided something, there was no turning back. Putin left her and appeared as if nothing had happened at her door after two months.
When, after moving to Leningrad, Lyudmila was thinking about a field of study, Vladimir ordered her to study Spanish philology. After some time, he advised his wife to complete a typing course . "Actually, it was not advice, it was an order," said the President. - "I couldn't discuss it with him, so I said 'Yes, sir!' And took the course."
The woman had nothing to say even about the choice of names for the daughters.
I dreamed of calling the older girl Natalia (Natasha), I liked that name very much. Volodya stated that the daughter would be named Maria (Masha) after his mother. I cried, I begged, but it didn't help. The daughter was named Masha .
Mother, wife and cook
" The husband believes that everything at home should be done by his wife, Lyudmila confided. - "Women should not be praised because it spoils them." Putin did not apply the reduced fare even when his wife was heavily pregnant with her second daughter, Katya. At that time, the spouses lived in Dresden, in a multi-story block of flats without an elevator. Pregnant Lyudmila wore heavy clothes with groceries, a pram and a one-year-old daughter . One of Putin's German neighbors detained Vladimir and started scolding him for the way he treated his pregnant wife:“Women need to be helped, do you understand ?! Help!". But Putin remained deaf to his neighbor's appeal.
George Bush and Ludmila Putin at the celebration of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. Kremlin.ru/CC BY 3.0
The president was a picky man. "If he did not like the appearance of the dish I had prepared, he simply pushed it away and did not eat it," Lyudmila said. - "For example, I serve him meat and wait for his evaluation."
When the Putins returned from Dresden to Leningrad, Luda began teaching foreign languages at St. Petersburg University. She recalled:
I had no discount . Four times a week I was at the university, taking my daughters to after-school activities, cooking, cleaning and washing. I could not rest even on weekends, because Volodya invited friends to our dacha. I had to prepare food for 10-15 people. Back then, I got sick of cooking .
New life
Although the private lives of Ludmila and Vladimir were shrouded in secrecy, foreign journalists managed to find out that - in all probability - it was the woman who initiated the divorce. . Therefore, in 2013, Ms Putin was included in the top ten most influential women in the Forbes ranking.
A few years ago, Lyudmila got married. Her chosen one is an entrepreneur, 18 years younger, Artur Oczeretny.