May 15, 2026

Revolt Against Putin Mistress


Revolt Against Putin Mistress
Alina Kabaeva decorated with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland by President Vladimir Putin IN 2005. Kremlin.ru

The independent publication Agency recently released the article “I Hate Kabaeva,” the headline a comment pulled from a social media post. The article pointed to a famous former gymnast whose personal influence may be impacting the integrity of Russian competitors.

Alina Kabaeva is the outstanding Russian gymnast who won the European Championship at age 15, earning her a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records, and went on to become an Olympic champion. Her athletic achievements date back to the early 2000s, while today, she is known primarily for her relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both parties deny the relationship, but it is common knowledge that Kabaeva is the Russian president’s unofficial wife and the mother of his youngest children.

After retiring from competitive gymnastics in 2007, Kabaeva worked in televisionand was involved in social and political activities, then she essentially disappeared from public life. She returned in 2022 to announce the creation of an international rhythmic gymnastics club association called “Sky Grace,” and opened a school of the same name.

As Meduza reported last year, this school has been granted unique powers that no other similar organization possesses. Tournaments and the awarding of athletic titles are conducted according to its own rules, and it has its own competition calendar, as if Sky Grace were a separate sport. What's more, a scandal is linked to the school. 

It stems from the 42nd European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, which will take place in May in Varna, Bulgaria. It is one of the first major international tournaments where Russian athletes will be able compete since the start of Russia’s War on Ukraine. Although they will compete under a neutral flag, this is a major event for Russian rhythmic gymnastics.  

But after the list of participants was announced, it became clear that it was dominated by names from Sky Grace. According to insiders cited by Agency, this distribution of spots on the national team “does not reflect the gymnasts’ actual skill level or the results they achieved in recent competitions.”

Hundreds of posts appeared, not only accusing Kabaeva of using her administrative influence, but also brimming with irritation and hatred that seemed to have been building for a long time. People posted that this is “no longer tolerable” and that, given Kabaeva’s unspoken status, it is unlikely that anything can be done to fix it, that she “does whatever she wants,” and that no lawyer would take on the case.

On the one hand, all of this is merely outrage over certain processes within a professional athletic community. Yet, against the backdrop of growing discontent in the country, it appears symptomatic and carries a fairly clear political subtext. It is therefore not surprising that one of the most popular and frequently quoted comments surrounding the scandal is the phrase, “I don’t think Kabaeva will come to her senses. It runs in the family.”

 

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