"After almost 30 years, Putins will divorce" by Jim Heintz | Associated Press, June 07, 2013
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife, Lyudmila, said Thursday that they are divorcing after nearly 30 years of marriage.
The Putins made the statement on state television after attending a ballet performance at the Kremlin. ‘‘It was our joint decision,’’ Putin said.
Lyudmila Putin was rarely seen in public during her husband’s long tenure at the top of Russian politics and implied that she didn’t like to travel with him on his frequent trips.
‘‘I don’t like publicity and flying is difficult for me,’’ she said.
The Putins married on July 28, 1983, and have two daughters, Maria and Yekaterina.
‘‘We practically never saw each other. To each his own life,’’ Putin said.
Lyudmila Putin said, ‘‘We will eternally be very close people. I’m thankful . . . that he supports me.’’
There were no immediate indications of how the move would be perceived by the public. Divorce is common in Russia, and nearly 700,000 pairs dissolved their marriages in 2009, according to UNICEF.
Russian leaders, unlike their counterparts in the West, generally keep their personal lives well out of public view.
But Putin also has made a point of supporting traditional social values.
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"Putins’ divorce plans fail to stir Russians" by Kathy Lally | Washington Post, June 08, 2013
MOSCOW — Talk about a tabloid dream. The president of your country goes splitsville right on national television after years of scoffing at rumors that his marriage has turned colder than Siberia. Stop the presses and pull out the big headline type.
On Thursday night, Russian President Vladimir Putin provided just such news, telling a national television audience as he was leaving a ballet performance with his wife that, by the way, they had stopped living together and were divorcing.
But the presses did not stop. Vladimir Sungorkin, editor in chief of Komsomolskaya Pravda, a tabloid with a circulation of up to 2.4 million some days, was on his way home when the news hit just before 10 p.m. His paper’s deadline was 8:40 p.m.
‘‘Put it on the Web,’’ he told his editors. ‘‘It was very well known and obvious that they had split,’’ he said Friday, ‘‘because they were not seen together. He attended events alone where he should have been with her. People were used to the fact that the president did not live with her.’’
This past Easter, a major religious holiday, Putin appeared at church services with Sergei Sobyanin, mayor of Moscow.
Vladimir and Lyudmila Putin have been married nearly 30 years. He is an ardent supporter of the Orthodox Church, which frowns on divorce. His government has promoted family values, and just a few days ago an official committee recommended a tax to discourage divorce.
Yet while there was plenty of coverage of the announcement by Friday, there was little sensation or even disapproval.
‘‘Thank God that Putin decided to tell the truth,’’ Tina Kandelaki, a PR executive told Komsomolskaya Pravda.
I wish we had a chief executive like that.
‘‘I have been hearing for years how great it would be if Putin could tell the truth and divorce,’’ said Ksenia Sobchak, a TV personality.
Titillation was left to Western news organizations, which referred to reports alleging Putin, now 60, was involved with Alina Kabaeva, a former Olympic gymnast who is now 30.
That's why they are imploding as an industry.
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