Alina Kabaeva, an Olympic champion gymnast and former State Duma deputy, is widely recognized as Vladimir Putin's unofficial wife. Born into a sports family in Uzbekistan, she moved to Moscow to train under Irina Viner. Despite initial criticism for being "old" and "fat," Kabaeva became a favorite of Viner and achieved significant success in gymnastics, including becoming an absolute world champion. Her career faced a setback due to a doping scandal, but she rebounded to win Olympic gold in 2004. Post-retirement, Kabaeva entered politics, joined United Russia, and later became a major media manager. She founded a charitable foundation and has been involved in various media projects. Persistent rumors suggest she has children with Putin, but she remains private about her personal life. Kabaeva's wealth and real estate holdings have grown significantly, with connections to influential figures and companies.
Here are the extracted key facts without opinions:
1. Alina Kabaeva was born on May 12, 1983, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
2. Her father, Marat Vazikhovich, was a professional football player.
3. Her mother, Lyubov Mikhailovna, was a basketball player.
4. Alina's paternal grandfather was a sports official and headed the Tatar wrestling federation KurEsh.
5. Alina began training in rhythmic gymnastics at the age of 3.5 years.
6. In 1998, at the age of 15, Alina won the European All-Around Championship.
7. In 1999, Alina won two silver medals and four gold medals at the World Championships.
8. Alina was a member of the Russian national team.
9. In 2000, Alina participated in the Sydney Olympics and won a bronze medal.
10. Alina was disqualified for a year after testing positive for a banned substance in 2001.
11. Alina resumed her sports career in 2002 and won two gold medals at the European Championships.
12. In 2004, Alina won the Olympic gold medal in the individual all-around event.
13. Alina announced her retirement from sports in 2004.
14. In 2005, Alina began to develop her political career and received membership in the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation.
15. Alina was elected as a parliamentarian from United Russia in 2007.
16. Alina spent seven years in the State Duma, earning between 10-14 million rubles per year.
17. In 2008, Alina founded the Alina Kabaeva Charitable Foundation.
18. Alina graduated from the Lesgaft Sports University in St. Petersburg in 2009.
19. Alina became the chairman of the management of Sport-Express CJSC in 2016.
20. Alina performed the prestigious duty of ambassador of the International Gymnastics Federation at the 2017 World Championships.
21. Alina was awarded the "Crystal Medal" of the Federation of Sports Television and Cinema in 2017.
22. Alina defended her PhD thesis in the field of pedagogical sciences at LESgaft University in 2018.
23. Alina's net worth is reportedly $10 million.
24. Alina earned 785 million rubles in 2018 as the head of the board of directors of the National Media Group.
25. Alina owns several apartments in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as a land plot in the Moscow region.
26. Alina's family signed a lease for a plot of land and a two-story house in an elite area of Sochi for 49 years.
27. Alina's car fleet has included several luxury vehicles, including a BMW X5 SUV, a Mercedes Benz E-Class, and a Maybach S500.