The Mystery of Vladimir Putin's Mother

Who is really his mommy?

If you’re relatively new to the issues related to Kremlin propaganda and how it’s affecting other countries (including the United States), I recommend reading some background posts I wrote that explains things in more detail along with links to other sites where you can read more to educate yourself.

Today is Mother's Day in the United States. On this occasion here's a mystery story that also dovetails nicely with deconstructing Kremlin propaganda theme of this Substack by asking this question: Who was Vladimir Putin’s mother?

The official story goes like this: Vladimir Putin was born on October 7, 1952 in the city that was then-named Leningrad (but is now known as Saint Petersburg) in the country that was then-known as the Soviet Union (but is now known as Russia). His father, also named Vladimir Putin, served in the Soviet military. His mother, Maria Putina (née Shelomova), was a factory worker.

He was born the youngest of three sons. His oldest brother, Albert, was born in the 1930s but he died in infancy. His other brother, Viktor, was born in 1940 but he died in 1942 of starvation and diphtheria during the Siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany's forces in World War II. Vladimir Putin’s mother was 41 when he was born. Since his parents didn't have any more children after he was born and since Vladimir grew up without ever knowing his brothers, he was effectively raised as an only child.

His mother died in 1998 and his father died in 1999 so neither parent lived to see their son rise to acting president of the Russian Federation on December 31, 1999 then become elected president on March 26, 2000.

But then in 1999 a woman from Georgia named Vera Putina came forward claiming that she was Vladimir Putin's actual biological mother. Her story goes like this:

Vera Putina was born in Russia to Russian parents. As a young woman she had an affair with a Russian man named Platon Privalov, who was married to another woman. He left Vera soon after she became pregnant. In 1950, two years before Putin's official birth date, she gave birth to a son named Vladimir Putin but she nicknamed him Vova. In 1952 she married a Georgian soldier named Giorgi Osepahvili and the couple moved with Vova to Georgia.

Her husband resented her son, who would frequently threaten to throw the boy out, and would spend days without saying a word to him. There were times when he threw a barefoot Vova out of the house in the winter and he took refuge with a neighbor. He couldn't stand seeing Vova at the table so the child had to eat his meals alone.

Vera gave birth to a daughter from that marriage but her husband was an alcoholic and womanizer who picked fights with her. It was after one such fight that she took Vova and her daughter and moved back to her parents’ home in Russia.

It was only when she decided to reconcile with her husband that she permanently lost custody of Vova, who was ten years old at the time. She told The Telegraph that her husband had pressured her to disown her own son. She told The Sun that when she was in the process of moving back to Georgia, her parents convinced her to let them keep Vova while promising her that they would take good care of the boy. She returned to her husband in Georgia with only her daughter.

Later she learned that her father had sent her son to a military gymnasium (KGB school) in an effort to make a real man out of him. She also believed that the couple who is listed as Vladimir Putin's official parents are distant relatives who may have adopted the boy from her parents.

The Kremlin has denied that Vera Putina is Vladimir Putin’s biological mother. The issue of whether Vera and Vladimir are really mother and son could have been resolved with a DNA test. Vera was willing to take the test but Vladimir refused.

Basically there are two possibilities regarding the issue of who is Vladimir Putin’s biological mother. One is that the Russian leader really isn't her son. Vera's son Vova was adopted by someone else and his name may have been changed to something completely different as part of the process. Vera was simply mistaken to believe that the Russian leader was really her long lost Vova.

The other is that Vladimir Putin really is Vera's son but he is choosing to deny it because it reminds him too much of his painful childhood memories of living with his hostile stepfather then being given away to his maternal grandparents before he was adopted by his official parents. He probably felt that not meeting with Vera was his way of putting his past behind him.

There are a few things about this story that intensifies the mystery. A Russian language teacher living in the Georgian village where Vera Putina lived claimed that she gave Russian language lessons to little Vova. She received death threats after making her claim public.

Then there are two mysterious deaths connected with the story. Russian journalist and media magnate Artyom Borovik was about to publish a story about Vera Putina when his private plane crashed on the way to Kyiv. Italian journalist Antonio Russo had electronically transmitted footage of Vera Putina shortly before he was found shot to death in Tbilisi.

Vera Putina said that she only wanted to see the man whom she believed was her long-lost son, Vladimir Putin, in person just one more time. She never got her wish. She died in Tbilisi on May, 2023 at the age of 96. As to solving the ultimate question as to who is really Putin's mother, it's probably one of those things that will never be known for sure as long as Vladimir Putin remains alive.

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