In 2008, a Russian tabloid newspaper was closed down by its owner after it ran a story on the rumoured relationship. Mr Putin divorced Lyudmilla, his wife of 30 years, in 2013. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his ex-wife Lyudmila Putina (Getty) Friday's unconfirmed reports about a new child were the latest in a series of rumours to circulate since Mr Putin, 62, cancelled a planned trip to Kazakhstan on Wednesday.