First
Person
Part 8
Part 8
PART 8
THE FAMILY MAN: INTERVIEW WITH LYUDMILA PUTINA
THE FAMILY MAN: INTERVIEW WITH LYUDMILA PUTINA
Interviews with Putin, Lyudmila, and their two
daughters, Masha and Katya, take us inside the Putin home. Of course, things
have changed since Papa's rise to power, but the family tries to remain
clearheaded about their newly found fame. They share their shopping habits, TV
preferences, and talk frankly about their father's temper and the pressures of
being the First Family.
You've lived with your husband for 20 years. You must
know everything about him.
No, you can never know
everything about a person. Something remains secret in every person.
He's not very talk active?
I wouldn't call Volodya the silent type. He's
very eager to talk about topics that interest him, with people who interest
him. But he is not inclined to discuss with people, especially the people he
works with. I'm just the opposite. If I know someone or I see someone on
television, I tend to express my opinion. And he doesn't like to do that. Well,
express yourself about somebody.
What about Chubais, for instance. Do you know him?
A little bit. Women
usually like him. And it seems to me that he doesn't take women seriously. He
treats them with a certain contempt. I'm not a feminist, but I want women to
occupy the place they deserve in this world.
Do you influence your husband?
He's always saying that
Russian women are underestimated. That's hardly my influence. Our views just
coincide.
Does he ever look at women?
I think that beautiful women attract his
attention.
Do you take that calmly?
Well, what sort of man
would he be, if he weren't attracted by beautiful women? A lot of husbands
bring their work frustrations home with them at the end of the day.
Volodya has never taken
his problems out on me. Never! He has always solved them himself. Also, he
won't discuss a problem until he has found a solution himself. Later he might
say something. But I always sense when he has some problems or when he's simply
in a bad mood. That's something he's not able to hide. In general he's a
composed person, but at certain moments it's better not to bother him.
Or else there will be a fight?
It depends on what you
mean. If you mean breaking dishes and flinging saucepans, no. He doesn't even
raise his voice. But he can answer rather sharply.
Can he get drunk?
There hasn't been any of
that. He is indifferent to alcohol, really. In Germany, he loved to drink beer.
But usually he'll drink a little vodka or some cognac.
You've never been well-off, have you? Was there ever a
period in your life when you didn't have to count your money before payday?
No, there's never been a
time when we didn't have to count our money. I don't know. Probably you'd have
to own a large business in order to not count your money.
Are you the one who runs the family finances?
Yes.
Vladimir Putin:
Lyuda is still basically
running the finances. I didn't use to pay attention to our family finances, and
I won't start now. I'm not very good at saving money. And what should I save it
for? I believe that you need to have a comfortable living space, eat normally,
dress decently, provide your children with a good education, and go away
somewhere on vacation every once in a while. That's all you need money for. What else would you need it for?
If I had a pile of money,
I would travel. I would take a journey. I haven't been to many exotic
countries. I've only been to America twice to New York, in the sweltering heat,
and also to Los Angeles. You don't see much when you're traveling on business the
airport, the hotel, the conference room, the airport. That's it.
I'd like to go on safari
in Africa. To Kenya. I wanted to take my children there, but they were afraid
of all the necessary shots. I'd like to travel to India. I've never been to any
Arab countries. I'd like to see Egypt and Saudi Arabia. I've never been to
Latin America at all. That would be interesting, too. They say that it looks
like the Soviet Union in the 1950s.
Do you do the cooking at home?
I used to cook breakfast,
lunch, and dinner. Now we have a cook.
Have you ever noticed that when somebody takes up a
serious post in our country, they begin to gain weight?
Volodya works out every
morning for 20 to 30 minutes. And he swims in the morning and the evening.
Vladimir Putin:
I usually don't have
lunch. I don't have time. In the morning, I try to eat fruits and drink some
kefir when I can. And when I don't manage to, I'd prefer not to eat anything at
all. I eat in the evening. I'm not on a diet, but I also don't want to gain
weight. Lyudmila has lost 15 kilograms, and I didn't even expect it. My girls
are very slender as well.
At the prime minister's
dacha, where we are now living, there's a little pool about 12 meters long. I
try to swim every day. And experience has shown it is better not to give up my
workouts. If I give them up, I immediately have to buy clothes several sizes
larger. I had a period, as I was saying, when I went from a size 44-46 to a 52.
Then I took myself in hand. So at home I try to work out at least half an hour
a day.
I have to tell you, it
has reached the point of insanity. I told everyone that I used to do martial
arts, and now people call me and say, "We have a tournament scheduled.
When should it be held?" "What?" I ask. And they repeat,
"We have a tournament scheduled, but when do you think we should have it?"
And I say, "Have it whenever you like." And they ask, "When is
it convenient for you? You'll be coming, won't you?'' Well, I can't contain
myself and I tell them to go to hell: "If I can come, I will, and if I
can't, I won't. Don't be ridiculous!"
You went skiing together near Sochi, in Krasnaya
Polyana. Did you get addicted to skiing in Germany?
No, before. The children
ski better than we do. But they had guests that day and didn't go with us.
Vladimir Putin:
I've been skiing for a
long time. I used to go to Cheget, and to Slavsk, in Ukraine. I've been abroad
a few times. Lyudmila skis as well. Last time we went she was pretty good.
People were amazed to see us in Sochi in February. But their reaction was very
kind and human. Maybe because we didn't have 150 bureaucrats with us who didn't
know how to ski but were waiting to hold the ski poles.
We went down the first
time, and then I went over to the lift and took my goggles off. A line had
formed, and suddenly I heard shouts of "It can't be!" People began
letting us through to the head of the line. Nobody bothered us, really. Some
wanted to take photographs. A group of people gathered around us, and we were
photographed all together. I did refuse to give autographs, because I was there
to ski and I would have gotten stuck signing autographs the whole time. It was
funny. Somebody said, "How an it be that you're here among us,
skiing?!" I laughed. "But who should I ski among? The Africans? They
don't know how to ski, they don't have any snow."
Do you wait for your husband to get home in the
evening?
Yes. And I get up with
him in the morning. You know, before he became prime minister, it was easy to
get up in the morning, even though we went to bed at midnight or 1 a.m. We were
less tired. Now, it's a huge load. It seems just inhuman to me. I was horrified
when I saw his meeting with Madeleine Albright on TV. He had slept about four
hours the night before, and he had a three-hour meeting with Albright and it
wasn't just a social visit.
Aren't you amazed at the way he manages all of this?
I am amazed. Of course,
Volodya always had a good memory. I remember when he was still working in
Peter. We were invited to a reception at the French consulate. This was at the very
start of his career. Volodya was late, and all of us about seven people were
waiting for him. When he arrived, people threw questions at him, and for two
hours he practically gave a press conference, even though we had just been
invited for a visit.
What did he talk about?
Oh, everything. It was
the first time I saw him in action. I sat there openmouthed. He talked about
politics, the economy, history, and the law. I listened, and I kept thinking,
"How does he know all this?" But you know, I always somehow believed
in him. He had to start from zero so many times, and it always worked out. And
in Moscow it all came together. You know, he had a hard time after he left the
post of vice mayor. He couldn't find work. That period was really difficult for
him. He was silent. He didn't say anything, but I understood. I still believe
in him, although I'm a little afraid for him.
Your husband's status has changed dramatically, and
that must affect your life. Strange as it seems, you must suffer from more
limitations. Your friends can't just up and visit you. Your girls are growing up,
isolated from friends . . .
And they are kept home
from school, too, because the security measures have increased. Masha is in
ninth grade, and Katya is in eighth grade. The teachers come to our home. But
girlfriends come over as well. They still go to the movies, to the theater....
Of course, they're less free than they were before. But our girls have turned out
to beknock wood somehow very smart about life. I hope all these changes don't affect
them.
Masha:
To be honest, I'd like to go to school. Of course, they ask all sorts of
questions about Papa there. Polite people don't ask, but rude ones do. The ones
who are really curious. When Papa became prime minister, people began to treat
us with a lot more respect, it was really noticeable. But you know, some of them
would flatter us or try to get in good with us. And that really bothers me.
Some of them would be telling others on the street, "I know that Putin
girl." But on the whole, the friends I had last year are still my friends.
Katya:
We're not really
concerned about politics. We ask Papa to watch cartoons and sometimes he joins
us. Our favorite movie right now is The Matrix, but Papa hasn't seen it. We
invited him to see it with us. He said he didn't have time now, but he would
definitely see it later. First we went to the movie theater on Krasnaya Presny Street
and watched the film with Russian subtitles. Then we bought the cassette in English.
We have three languages in school German, English, and French.
Masha:
They give us a lot of
homework. Even if we don't go to school, we still have a lot of homework. . . .
Katya:
We have guards when we go
to the movies. There's a guy who sits there watching the movie, but I think
he's guarding us at the same time. Usually, we don't even notice the bodyguards.
Even when we go somewhere with our friends, they stay nearby, but they try not
to get in the way. We've called them over to drink coffee with us a thousand times,
but they don't want to.
Masha:
Sometimes people ask us,
"Do you know what your Papa intends to do?" We never ask him. Why
would we? He's already getting asked a bunch of questions. We spend more time
telling him about ourselves. I think it's more interesting to him.
It seems like the two of them get along. Wasn't it
hard to have them one after the other like that?
Volodya wanted it that
way. He really loves the girls a lot. Not all men treat their girls as lovingly
as he does. And he spoils them. I'm the one who has to discipline them.
He didn't want a boy?
He always said,
"Whatever God gives us is good." He never said he wanted a boy.
Now, that white, fluffy thing over by the door is that
a girl or a boy?
She's a girl, too. Her
name is Toska. She's a toy poodle. She hasn't had her hair cut in a long time.
Volodya was sort of amazed by her at first, she's so little but now he loves her.
Do Masha and Katya talk about the future? What would
they like to be when they grow up?
Masha pronounces the
English word management very seriously; and Katya says that she'd like to be a
furniture designer.
The girls probably never see their father.
They see him more often
on television than at home. But he always goes in to see them, no matter what
time he gets home. We have a rule with Masha and Katya that they must be in bed
by 11 p.m. If they go to bed later, then they can't have anyone over on
Saturdays. It's probably too strict, but otherwise they'll stay up until 3 a.m.
I'm all for self-discipline: You can stay up until 3, but you know what the
consequences are.
And they can probably wrap Papa around their little
fingers?
Nobody can wrap Papa
around their little finger.
What's that book in German? Do you read German?
Yes, our daughters'
teacher gave us this. She's German. It's a very interesting present, very
touching. I haven't read it yet.
Vladimir Putin:
You know what the book is
called? My wife translated it as "Talented Women in the Shadow of Their
Great Husbands." But that's not completely accurate. The literal translation
is "Gifted Women in the Shadow of Their Famous Husbands." I think
that sounds much less complimentary to the husbands. The women are gifted, and
the men are just famous.
Women who are in the shadow of their politician
husbands probably have a complicated life. Women want attention. They like to
be coddled . . .
I don't need to be
coddled. I'm more like the women in those old Russian tales "She stops a
horse in mid-gallop, and runs into a burning hut." These are women who
don't need coddling.
But everybody's interested in the wives of famous
politicians. Have you never gotten mad at the press?
"Mad?"that
isn't quite the right expression. You get mad at people who are close to you,
who matter to you. Of course, there have been some unpleasant episodes. It's
unpleasant, for example, when a journalist bothers your mama and your sister
for interviews without any warning, taking advantage of their naA vetA . It's
unpleasant when they dig into your background. It's unpleasant when they lie.
What is your husband's attitude toward the press? Does
he watch TV?
The news and sometimes a
movie.
Does he react at all?
Either he laughs or he
gets upset, or he worries. I would say he reacts quite emotionally. On Saturday
or Sunday, if we're home, he watches the analytical programs.
Vladimir Putin:
I read all the
newspapers. The actual newspapers, not digests. It doesn't matter what order I
read them in. I just start with whatever's on top. I read Izvestia,
Komsomolskaya Pravda,
Sovetskaya Rossiya, Kommersant. I watch the news if there's time.
I've watched Kukly,*but
only a couple of times; it doesn't annoy me, but my friends take offense.
Friends no doubt have the right to do that.
*Kukly is a satirical puppet show.
Do you have friends?
I have three girlfriends.
And
your husband?
It always seemed to me
that half of St. Petersburg was friends with Volodya. We always had a full
house. Especially on weekends, but even during the week.
Somebody was always
coming over usually at Volodya's invitation. He loves socializing with people.
I think that if he didn't, he wouldn't have been able to handle the stress. His
friends from Peter come to visit us here and stay overnight.
Vladimir Putin:
The lack of contact with
friends has really weighed on me, because I have some very good friends. In
fact, our friends are our lives, they are us, they are a part of ourselves. I
felt this keenly when I went to work abroad. The first few years, I missed my
friends terribly. Without them, it was all empty and lonely. Although I had a
heavy workload at my job, and a family and a home, I realized that our identity
is in our friends. After our third year in Germany, we began to adapt and
develop new ties. And suddenly I realized that I wasn't looking forward to
going home on holiday. Really! It startled me.
I have a lot of friends,
but only a few people are really close to me. They have never gone away. They
have never betrayed me, and I haven't betrayed them, either. In my view, that
is what counts most. I don't even know why you would betray your friends.
For your career?
Career alone doesn't mean
much to me. Of course, a career offers you the opportunity to make something of
yourself, to do something interesting. But how can you make something of
yourself if you are betraying yourself? It's all very simple. If you look at a
career as a means to achieve power, control people, or make money, and if you
are prepared to lose everything doing that well, that's another matter. But if you
have priorities in life bench marks and values then you realize that there's no
point in sacrificing yourself and those who are a part of your life. There just
isn't any point. You lose more than you gain. That's the way it is.
You probably have to go to receptions, be visible, and
observe etiquette. Is your husband's social life a burden?
Not if there's somebody
to chat with. And it's fun to dress up. Women like to dress nicely. On the
other hand, politics itself has never interested me. It's boring.
Would you rather wear a skirt or pants?
Now I prefer skirts, but
before it was pants. For everyday life I love knitsa skirt and sweater. But for
official meetings now I have to wear suits. In the old days, the wives of the
leaders used to buy clothes in a closed section of GUM.*
*GUM is a Moscow department store.
Now
where do you go shopping?
In the same stores as
everybody else. I recently went to
Escada and bought the pants and the sweater I'm wearing right now. I spent a
week driving around town looking for some boots for myself. I never found them.
I couldn't find the right size.
Do you buy your husband's clothes?
There was a time when I
shopped for him. And I still do, now and then. Clothes have never meant much to
him. He's always had two or, at the most, three suits. And then jeans and
shirts. At home he usually wears jeans and a sweater. He dresses very casually.
But now, because he's always in the public eye, he has begun to dress a little
more carefully. Many people noticed that the sleeves of his suits used to be
too long. Now they're okay. That was my fault. Sometimes I was just too lazy to
shorten his sleeves. Now he goes to a tailor.
If you
buy him a tie, does he wear it without complaining?
Only if it goes with his
shirt and suit. And no, he doesn't do anything without complaining.
*GUM is a Moscow department store.
You used to have long hair, and now you wear it short.
Where do you get your hair done?
At Irina Baranova's. She
used to do Nina Iosifovna Yeltsina's hair too. I think Irina is wonderful. She
has her own salon.
And who's your husband's barber?
There are various
barbers, either at the FSO or the FSB.*
*The FSO is the Federal Guard Service (the personal protection corps of the president and other high officials), while the FSB is the Federal Security Service (the KGB's successor, working on domestic and foreign intelligence).
He's never paid much attention
to his haircut. I like it when his hair is cut very short.
Do you go on vacation together?
We used to. Twice we went
to Kurskiy Zaliv [Courland Lagoon] in Latvia. We've been abroad. But now . . .
you know, I don't make plans anymore. I used to make them, and when they fell
apart I would get very upset and offended. But now I understand it's easier not
to make plans for shared vacations or holidays or time off, so as not to be
disappointed.
You sound so sad when you say that.
No, not at all. I knew it
would be like this. After all, if I was only worried about myself, then at some
point I would have said to my husband, "Volodya, I beg you, don't do that.
Let's stay on the sidelines. Let's do something else." But I didn't say
that.
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