international intrigue

5 Photos of Vladimir Putin and His Wife Looking Miserable Together

Russia's President Vladimir Putin takes part in a ceremony of receiving credentials in the Kremlin in Moscow, on September 26, 2012. Putin said today world powers should draw lessons from their mistakes and stop interfering in crisis-hit nations of North Africa and the Middle East.
Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AFP/Getty Images

Vladimir Putin, who has long been rumored to have at least one girlfriend in addition to his wife of nearly 30 years, is getting a divorce. The Russian president appeared on television today with his “shadowy figure” of a wife, Lyudmila Putina (to whom Russians “are mostly indifferent”) and announced that they are separated for good. While Lyudmila is rarely seen in public compared to the wives of most world leaders, the couple almost never looked happy, even taking into account that someone as manly as Putin never smiles with teeth. To memory lane we go 

Photo: Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images
Photo: ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images
Photo: JOSE GIRIBAS/Bloomberg News
Photo: PATRICK BERNARD/AFP/Getty Images
Photo: JOHN MACDOUGALL

Women of the world, watch out — this man is single:

Photo: BREUEL-BILD/Juri Reetz/dpa/Corbis
Vladimir Putin Is Getting a Divorce