Per Vladimir Putin’s biography, he claims to know more about his father’s background than that of his mother (via The New York Times). “I come from an ordinary family,” Putin writes in the book (via Zeit). Consistent to Putina’s version of events, Putin’s own recollection becomes much clearer when he starts school in Leningrad around 1960. That’s around the same time Putina says her son was sent to live with foster parents, Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin and Maria Ivanovna Putina, who really did die prior to Putin obtaining the presidency. Further inconsistency to Putin’s version of events as told in the book: His purported real mother would have been 41 when he was born, which was very unusual in that area at that time. Disputed childhood photographs of Putin also cast the story in doubt.
Nevertheless, uncertainty remains about the true origin of Vladimir Putin, and even though Putina submitted samples for a blood test, the results were never released, and more unexplained deaths have occurred around the story. As the words of Putina from that very first video footage attest, she is convinced that her son is Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Vova still carries my last name, but he doesn’t want to recognize me as his mother,” she said (via Zeit). “That’s the reason people from the KGB came here to my house. They took along all the family photos and admonished me that I was not allowed to tell anyone about him.” At the time of this writing, Vera Putina is still alive.
