Celebrity News

Putin’s mistress is a cover girl

The gymnast said to be the mother of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin‘s baby has caused a scandal by appearing on the cover of Russian Vogue in a sexy gold $35,000 Balmain dress. Sources tell Page Six that by allowing Alina Kabayeva to appear on the cover, the Kremlin strongman has signaled he is ready to acknowledge the former Olympic rhythmic gymnast, 27, as his paramour. “This could be just the first step toward their eventual public relationship,” said one Russian expat. “Some believe he wants to make Alina into a star.” Kabayeva appears with the headline, “Her Main Victory.” The cover is the first for new editor Viktoria Davydova, who took over the magazine in July. Putin is still married to flight attendant Lyudmila Shkrebneva and the couple have two daughters. Kabayeva and Putin were linked in 2008 by a Russian newspaper owned by billionaire Alexander Lebedev. Putin denied the relationship, and the paper was later shut down — on Putin’s orders, some said. Kabayeva gave birth to a boy in 2009, and Page Six reported the child was Putin’s, though she’s never identified the father.