Moscow: President of Russia Vladimir Putin has announced that he divorced his wife.
“This was our joint decision. Our marriage is over,” Putin told Russia 24, standing next to Lyudmila Putin, in an interview shown Thursday. “We almost don’t see each other. We have different lives.”
Putin married Lyudmila Shkrebneva in July 1983. Their children, Maria and Yekaterina, were born in 1985 and 1986, respectively.
It wasn’t immediately clear if that meant just separate domiciles. After a few more comments, the reporter gently prodded: “I am afraid to say this word ‘divorce’.”
“Yes, this is a civilized divorced,” Lyudmila said.
The peculiar format for the announcement appeared aimed at underlining that this wasn’t just a powerful man dumping his faithful helpmate. That’s a potentially important strategic move for Putin, who has based his public image on rectitude and support of traditional values.
