Vladimir Putin’s recent announcement that he and Lyudmila are to divorce has been met with disbelief by many Russians, according to a BBC report.
One woman told reporter Steve Rosenberg: “I don’t believe it. I don’t. Our leaders just don’t do that sort of thing. They never have.”
Another insisted: “It’s nothing more than gossip. That must have been a clown on TV last night posing as Putin!”
The woman, called Nadezhda, added that Putin would not divorce because he has “responsibilities to the Russian people and to God.”
According to the report, Putin is the first Russian leader in 300 years to end his marriage while in office. Newspaper Isvestia has warned that Putin’s divorce could cost him support amongst traditional married women, a key demographic for the 60 year-old leader.
Appearing on Moscow radio, a spokesman for Putin firmly denied rumours that the President has become involved with another woman. Such suggest were “gossip, rumours and speculation”, he said.
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