Investigation finds that Putin’s foreign nannies are bound by LGBT gag clauses as they tutor his sons ‘like educated Europeans’
In January 2026, at least 3.5 million rubles were spent on salaries for three governesses for Vladimir Putin’s youngest children, according to Systema, the investigative unit of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the U.S.-funded broadcaster. Systema journalists obtained and reviewed documents and correspondence relating to the staff who work with the sons of Putin and Olympic champion Alina Kabaeva.
As of early 2026, Putin’s youngest children — Ivan (born in 2015) and Vladimir (born in 2019) — had at least three governesses: Sofia B., a national of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Irene E., a German national; and Carol R., a South African national. In May 2026, Carol R. resigned for reasons that remain unclear.
Payments to the staff working with Putin’s children are calculated individually, based on hours worked. Officially, the governesses are listed as “leading translators” at the Professional Retraining Institute of the Sogaz International Medical Center, which is connected to Putin’s close friend Yuri Kovalchuk and the president’s daughter Maria Vorontsova. The arrangement allows them to obtain Russian visas and work permits as “highly qualified specialists.”
Staff contracts list a base salary of 167,000 rubles, with additional payments recorded as bonuses. The governesses may also receive part of their pay in cash, with examples of such arrangements documented in the correspondence.
The documents reviewed by Systema span the years 2017 to 2026. Most were sent to an email address shared by Kabaeva’s cousins Olesya Fedina and Yekaterina Golovacheva. Neither Putin nor Kabaeva is named in the documents. Their children are almost always referred to only as “wards.” In one document dated 2019, however, a ward is named: Ivan Fedin. Olesya Fedina’s own son goes by a different name.
Over nine years, about 20 private tutors worked in the Putin-Kabaeva household. At any given time, four to six people worked with a single child — some simultaneously, others in rotation. Their duties included foreign language instruction. Three-year-old Ivan’s schedule included English and German.
According to the documents, Olesya Fedina told the governesses in 2019 that by age four, Ivan should be constantly immersed in a “language bath.” His spoken English, Fedina said, should flow as naturally as “the speech of an educated European.” Similar requirements were set for German.
Systema also cited another requirement spelled out in staff contracts:
Never impose your religious, political, or ideological views on the ward. Do not raise topics related to sexual relationships or sex education without first consulting with the employer. Under no circumstances are LGBT-related topics to be discussed.
The teachers’ health was closely monitored. Before being hired, they were required to undergo medical screenings at the Sogaz clinic, and to repeat the screening upon returning from any trip. An infectious disease or any other illness that could affect their work for more than three weeks were grounds for summary dismissal.
Staff were required to submit multi-page daily reports. They were often barred from leaving what the documents called the “family complex” — the Valdai residence. In 2022, correspondence with an English teacher referred to only as Jane M. described the ban on leaving as “quarantine conditions.”
Most of the tutors named in the documents did not respond to questions from Systema. Only one former governess said she had indeed worked in Russia for three months but was never told who her employer was. “I was just somebody doing what they were told,” she said.
The names and birth dates of Putin and Kabaeva’s children were first identified by the Dossier Center. According to the center’s investigation, Ivan and Vladimir live primarily at the presidential residence in Valdai — a property reported on in detail by Proekt in 2023 — with governesses, nannies, and coaches on hand. The Dossier Center also reported on the scheme through which staff are registered via a network of clinics linked to Kovalchuk, and found that Kabaeva’s cousin Fedina handles all staffing matters.
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