An investigation by Systema, the Russian investigative unit of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, says Vladimir Putin’s alleged secret sons are being raised under tightly controlled conditions inside the heavily guarded Valdai compound between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The report says the children, identified as Ivan, born in 2015, and Vladimir Jr., born in 2019, live largely isolated from the outside world, and that their existence has never been publicly acknowledged by the Kremlin. Earlier reporting by a Swiss newspaper in 2022 and later work by the Dossier Center had already linked the boys to Putin and former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, though neither has confirmed the relationship.
According to the documents reviewed by Systema, at least 20 foreign employees have been recruited over the past eight years to help raise the children. Many of them reportedly came from NATO or European Union countries that Putin has sharply criticized, especially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The workers were officially hired through a Russian company as translators, and the report says they were allegedly never told directly that they were working for the Russian president. The contracts examined by investigators do not name Putin or Kabaeva, but repeatedly refer to “the family,” “the parents” and “the employers,” along with details matching the boys’ ages and other identifying clues.
The investigation says the caregivers faced a strict regime. They were reportedly required to undergo medical screenings, quarantine checks and confidentiality restrictions, including bans on discussing their work publicly or on social media. Employees were also told to avoid strong perfumes and maintain high hygiene standards. One nanny was allegedly criticized for walking barefoot because it was considered unclean, while another worker was reportedly the subject of an internal hygiene review in 2018. Foreign staff were also said to have limited freedom to leave the compound, and one tutor recalled being instructed to submit shopping lists instead of visiting public places. She was told supplies could be bought for her and treated with “safety agents” before delivery.
Systema also says the children are being educated by foreign tutors in English and German through immersion, with one aim reportedly being to shape them into “educated Europeans.” Most of the staff identified in the materials came from Germany, South Africa, Britain, Ireland, Austria, New Zealand and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Only one Russian teacher was named in the documents reviewed. At the same time, the contracts imposed strict ideological boundaries. Workers were told not to discuss LGBTQ+ issues or broader questions of sexuality and gender. One document reportedly warned that the boys should not be exposed to LGBT-related topics, and another said role-playing games should assign only male names and male roles.
The report also describes increased security around Valdai. Russian Service of RFE/RL said in April that 27 air-defense systems, including Pantsir-S1 missile units, had been deployed in the area. Some foreign staff members reportedly struggled with the isolation. A British tutor sought unpaid leave in 2023 because of burnout from quarantine, while a South African nanny recently resigned.
