'Women should know their place' Putin's ex-wife fumed at President's marriage remark

Vladimir Putin, widely known for his strongman image on the world stage, has kept his personal life largely shielded from the public eye. However, details about his former marriage to Lyudmila Putina—who was married to him for nearly three decades—have emerged through biographers and close acquaintances, painting a portrait of a deeply strained relationship.

According to Russian journalist Oleg Blotsky, who has written about Lyudmila Putina’s life, she reportedly found the Russian leader’s views on women to be deeply traditional and limiting. Blotsky claims that Putin believed women should “know their place” and handle all domestic responsibilities—expectations that put increasing strain on their marriage.

The couple met in the early 1980s and married in 1983. At the time, Ms. Putina was a flight attendant. Their move to Dresden, East Germany, where Putin was stationed as a KGB officer, reportedly marked a turning point in her perception of the relationship. She began to feel the weight of isolation and control, particularly as Putin advanced through the ranks of Russian bureaucracy.

A family acquaintance, Irene Pietsch, recounted in her own writing that Ms. Putina once described Putin as “a vampire who has sucked the juices out of me.” According to Pietsch, Lyudmila felt emotionally drained by the demands of her role as Putin’s wife. Yet she reportedly acknowledged that Putin "doesn’t drink or beat me,” which she saw as the only redeeming qualities during a difficult marriage.

The strain intensified in 1998, when Putin accepted a role as director of the Federal Security Service (FSB)—a decision that, according to Ms. Putina, broke an earlier promise to avoid returning to the intelligence world. “It’s terrible,” she reportedly told a friend. “No more travelling, no longer able to say whatever we want. I had only just begun to live.”

Putin’s alleged response to critics of the marriage was characteristically cold: “Anyone who could put up with [Lyudmila] for three weeks deserves a monument.”

Following Putin’s inauguration for a third presidential term in 2012, Ms. Putina gradually retreated from public life. In 2013, the couple announced their “civil” divorce in a joint television appearance, citing their long periods of separation and his all-consuming work.

In her statement, Lyudmila Putina said:

“Our marriage is over due to the fact we barely see each other. Vladimir is completely submerged in his work. Our children have grown up, each of them is living her own life. I truly don’t like publicity.”

Putin added that his wife had “done her shift” as Russia’s First Lady.

These rare insights into the personal life of one of the world’s most secretive leaders underscore the complex intersection of power, privacy, and personal sacrifice that can come with high political office—especially in authoritarian regimes where transparency is tightly controlled.