Putin’s alleged partner Alina Kabaeva traveled to Kazakhstan with him in 2017, data shows
Leaked border-service records show Vladimir Putin and Alina Kabaeva were both in Kazakhstan in February 2017.
Investigators examined leaked logs from Russia’s Federal Border Service and found that Alina Kabaeva traveled to Kazakhstan in February 2017, arriving in Almaty on 23 February on a private Embraer Legacy 650 jet (registration D-AHOI) and departing on 27 February. Her trip overlapped with Vladimir Putin’s state visit, which officially started on the 27th but saw Putin in the country earlier for an informal meeting with President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the Shymbulak ski resort.
The flight, operated by Air Hamburg—later absorbed by VistaJet—was estimated to cost roughly $26,000 and has also been used by families of Ramzan Kadyrov, Alexander Bastrykin and Dmitry Patrushev. Proekt notes this is the sole confirmed case of Kabaeva acting as a de-facto first lady on an overseas official trip. The report also hints she may have joined Putin on other journeys, such as the June 2016 Uzbekistan SCO summit, though records of her departure are missing.
Why it matters
It reveals that Russia’s leader may have brought his unofficial partner on diplomatic trips, raising transparency concerns.
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