Putin's ex-wife: Who is Lyudmila Putina?
Putin kept his family and past a secret for years. The darkness surrounding Putin's past has also drawn a veil of secrecy over the past of his wife and children. Little is known about Putin's family. Especially regarding his ex-wife.
Despite this, he and his family have always been a subject of curiosity. After they parted ways, interesting details emerged. He called the thirty years with Putin "risky". So who is Putin's wife, who perhaps knows him best and witnessed the process from being a KGB agent to becoming the President of Russia? Why did they part ways? Why did she hide herself for years?
Her full name, Ludmila Aleksandrovna Shkrebneva, was born on January 6, 1958, in Kaliningrad, Soviet Union. She grew up in a working-class family. Her father worked in a mechanical factory in Kaliningrad. She also had a sister named Olga.
She met Vladimir Putin at the entrance of a theater in Leningrad. Ludmila said that her future husband, Putin, came there poorly dressed. Then they continued to meet.
Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Ocheretnaya (born 6 January 1958) is a Russian linguist who served as the First Lady of Russia from 2000 to 2008 and from 2012 to 2014 while married to her ex-husband Vladimir Putin, the current president and former prime minister of Russia.
He was a calm and indifferent person. It couldn't be said that he was emotional either. In fact, for this reason, she often felt pessimistic about her relationship with him and thought that she would be abandoned. In addition, he also had a mysterious attitude due to his duty. He was extremely secretive about his private life.
Vladimir Putin was serving as a KGB agent at that time. As a successful agent, his star was shining in the KGB. He rose to the position of Second Chief Manager. He was tasked with collecting information about foreign operators. He was subsequently promoted to first chief manager. In the following period, he was appointed head of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Saint Petersburg Municipality. Putin gained great momentum in his career and rose rapidly within the Russian political system. But Ludmila was unaware that this young man in front of her would become the President of Russia in the future...
After three and a half years of their relationship, Putin and Ludmila got married in a simple ceremony on July 28, 1983, while Putin was still a KGB agent. But Putin's marriage proposal surprised Ludmila extremely. In an interview Ludmila gave in the following years, she talked about Putin's interesting marriage proposal. One evening, Putin started talking about his own shortcomings. “Now you know what kind of person I am,” he said to Ludmila. “I cannot say that I am a very relaxed person.” She said that he was an impulsive person and even insulted people. Ludmila thought that they would leave after these words. But Putin proposed marriage at the end of his speech. Although this offer surprised Ludmila, she accepted it. Thus began a very difficult married life for Ludmila, which she described as risky and which she could never love.
From this marriage, the couple had two daughters, Maria in 1985 and Katerina in 1986.
By 1999, the Soviet Union had collapsed and Putin became the Prime Minister of Russia. Ludmila was now the First Lady. While all eyes were on Putin, he managed to stay hidden.
Although Ludmila supported her husband Putin, who was rapidly rising in the political scene, she began to feel uncomfortable with the attention being placed on her as Putin's wife. She never liked the image of the "head of state's wife". She was not someone who liked to attract attention and be known. In this sense, She preferred to maintain a low profile. She didn't want to be talked about. She was avoiding making statements. She did not make any appearances except when required by protocol. She voluntarily restricted her role in public life. She started to live a life close to the outside world.
On June 6, 2013, Ludmila experienced another breaking point in her life. On that date, Ludmila and Putin appeared in front of the camera together and made a joint press statement. In this statement, they announced that after thirty years together, they would end their marriage. In fact, the divorce decision was a joint decision. In a speech in which she explained the reason for their divorce, Ludmila said, "Our marriage ended because we could hardly see each other" and said that Putin was completely absorbed in work. Putin said, "This is a joint decision, we see each other very little and we both have our own lives."
We can easily call Russian President Vladimir Putin a strange and mysterious president. He has a busy daily schedule and does not like interference in his private life. For this reason, there is much unknown about his private life. The life of Putin and his family, as well as his ex-wife Ludmila, continues to maintain mysterious details.