Upbringing of Putin and Kabayeva’s Children
A probe by the investigative project "Systema" has uncovered that the sons of Vladimir Putin and Alina Kabayeva are being raised by more than 20 foreign tutors. The children, Ivan and Vladimir Spiridonov, live in seclusion at presidential residences in Valdai and Sochi, where their education follows European methods. The annual cost of the staff responsible for their upbringing reaches hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Ivan Spiridonov, the elder son, was born on February 15, 2015, at the Sant'Anna clinic in Lugano, Switzerland, while the younger Vladimir Spiridonov was born on May 7, 2019, in Moscow. Both children are registered under the surname Spiridonov, chosen in honor of Vladimir Putin’s grandfather. The search for foreign tutors for Ivan began in 2017, and by 2018, the three-year-old was studying English and German daily, along with music lessons.
Foreign Tutors and Their Methods
The foreign teachers were tasked not only with instruction but also with full control over the children’s daily routines. Data has been found on about two dozen foreign educators who worked with the family from 2017 to 2025. These tutors came from:
- the United Kingdom
- South Africa
- New Zealand
- Germany
- Austria
- Ireland
At any given time, between four and six tutors were present with the children, constantly rotating shifts. In 2019, the salary for raising "Ivan Fedin" was 1,400 euros for 40 hours of work per week.
Among the tutors was 34-year-old Austrian Emma D., who taught Ivan German. She proposed conducting lessons twice a week in the forest using the Japanese "shinrin-yoku" method, emphasizing the importance of walks on uneven forest terrain for the child’s motor development. Emma D. planned to use forest walks to instill in the boy an interest in fishing and berry picking.
The tutors’ contracts included a ban on imposing religious, political, or ideological views on the children, as well as discussing sexual relationships and LGBTQ topics. Correspondence among tutors was conducted via an email account used by Olesya Fedina and Katerina Golovachova, first cousins of Alina Kabayeva. Before the pandemic, teachers were allowed to go into town, but this is no longer possible.
"We can order everything we need online," Katerina Golovachova noted.
As of January 2026, the family employed three foreign nannies: Sofia B. from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Irene E. from Germany, and Carol R. from South Africa. In total, in January 2026, the nannies were paid 3.5 million rubles. Plans to enroll Ivan in the Sochi lyceum "Sirius" in early 2024 were not carried out.
This information highlights the isolation in which Putin and Kabayeva’s children are growing up, and shows how the family invests significant resources in their upbringing by hiring foreign specialists. In response to modern challenges, such as the pandemic, they adapt their methods with a focus on safety and control. This also may indicate a desire to provide the children with an education aligned with European standards, despite the political and social circumstances in Russia.