A woman who has claimed for years that she is the secret mum of Russia's despotic leader, Vladimir Putin, has died at the age of 97.
For decades, Vera Putina has claimed that Putin was her son, who was conceived during an affair with a married man, something that he’s completely denied.
She claimed that she sent him away to Russia when he was just 10 years old, after he suffered a childhood of abuse and neglect from his stepdad, Georgi, while they lived in poor town called Metekhi, in Georgia.
Vera, who said her nickname for Putin was “Vova”, claimed that he was sent to live with his grandparents in Ochyor, Russia, following the childhood abuse.
While most would dismiss her claims as nonsense, she produced several photos of her son that bore an eerie resemblance to the Russian leader.
Now, according to reports, after spending years being snubbed by him, she has died aged 97.
Vera said in one of her final interviews: “My dream is not to die without Vova seeing me and talking to me at least once.
“I often see him in my dreams, but he doesn’t want to talk to me. Both in life and in dreams, he is upset about what I did, he cannot forgive me”.
Vera said of Georgi’s abuse against Putin: “He didn't beat Vova, but he didn't hide his dislike towards him. He’d often threaten that he’d kick “the bastard” out of his house.
“The day would go by without him saying a word to the child. Vova was suffering, and hated him, but he was also afraid of the man and didn’t dare to raise his voice."
Records reportedly found in a town near Metekhi said that a Vladimir Putin was registered at Metekhi school from 1959 to 1960 and was born Georgian, not Russian.
Vera’s claims are against the official version of Putin’s childhood, which says he was born in 1952 in St Petersburg as the third son of a Russian couple, Vladimir Putin Sr. and Maria Shelomova, both of whom died in the 1990s.
He claims that both of his brothers died young.
