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Social media and Internet forums have recently been flooded with reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has tied the knot with former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabayeva in a secret ceremony.
Kabayeva is also a member of Russia's Parliament Duma, a cover girl for Vogue Russia and owner of a media empire.
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In 2007, at the age of 24, Alina became a member of Duma and also took charge of a media empire that controls several TV channels and a newspaper.
Russian daily Moskovsky Korrespondent, which reported way back in 2008 that Alina Kabayeva was secretly engaged to Putin, had to retract the story. The paper was soon forced to shut shop completely
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Putin, one of the most feared leaders in the world, has always fiercely guarded his family.
When his former wife Lyudmila was not seen in public for over a year, some media reports claimed that she had been 'locked away' in a nunnery or a mental asylum so that the Russian President could enjoy his tryst with Alina peacefully.
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The 30-year-old Alina reportedly has a son and a daughter with the 61-year-old Russian President.
According to Sky News, the rumours were sparked by Putin's political rival Alexei Navalny, who tweeted that Putin and Kabayeva have married at the Iver Monastery.
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But Putin's spokesman has denied claims that the recently-divorced President has married the beauty.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the suggestions in a TV interview, calling the rumours 'Internet exercises out of boredom'.
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