IS PUTIN ABOUT TO CONVERT TO ISLAM TO MARRY HIS MISTRESS?

WE FIRST POSTED ON THIS POSSIBILITY IN 2008.

NOW - WITH THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT PUTIN IS GETTING A DIVORCE - OTHERS ARE WONDERING TOO:

Upon the announcement from Vladimir Putin that he will divorce his wife of nearly 30 years, Lyudmila, speculation abounds that the Russian president is dating gymnast Alina Kabayeva. 

“My position and my work mean a life completely open to the public,” Putin, 60, said, according to Russian outlet RIA. "Some people are fine with that, some people are incompatible with that lifestyle. [Lyudmila and I] practically never saw each other. We have our own lives.” 

Lyudmila added that “this is a civilized divorce,” but British tabloid The Sun reported that Putin may be “about to hook up with a woman rumored to be his long-term mistress.” The woman in question is 30-year-old former gymnast Kabayeva. 

Kabayeva, who is 30 years Putin’s junior, won a gold medal for rhythmic gymnastics in the 2004 Olympics in Athens and a bronze during the Sydney Olympics in 2000. She was the subject of a state television documentary in late May. which showed her in a favorable light, according to Reuters. 

The affair rumors arose from a newspaper owned by Putin’s rival, Alexander Lebedev. However, Kabayeva, who is now a lawmaker as a parliamentary deputy for the Kremlin-backed United Russia party, was spotted kissing Putin in a Moscow restaurant as early as 2008, The Sun noted. 

Some have said the pair even have children together. But the brunette beauty recently denied those rumors: On Russia’s Channel One network last month on her 30th birthday, Kabayeva denied having children, though she never mentioned Putin’s name. 

“The whole country -- and perhaps now other countries, too -- write that I’ve got two or three children,” she said. “Sadly, I don’t have children yet. But, of course, I want to be a mother. Still, I’m not yet."

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