Russian President Vladimir Putin And His Wife Call It Quits

Vladimir Putin might run Russia with an icy and rigid efficiency, but when it comes to his personal life, the same approach apparently doesn’t work as well. Earlier today, the President released a statement letting the Motherland’s citizens know he and his longtime wife, Lyudmila, have decided to go their separate ways.

According to RT, Vladimir and Lyudmila met all the way back in 1980 through a mutual friend. They wound up going to the theater three nights in a row, and by the last date, they decided to embark on a relationship. Three years later, they were married, and a few years after that, two daughters named Maria and Ekaterina were born. Given his years at the top of Russian politics, you would think the general public would know quite a bit about the now estranged couple, but in truth, very little is known about the family and the family dynamics. In fact, the politician has been very reluctant to answer anything other than the most broad questions about his family for a number of years, which is somewhat odd considering how garillous he often can be with other subjects.

Divorce is far from a strange phenomenon in Russia. Some studies have shown the country to have the single highest divorce rate in the entire world, but even so, broken marriages are far from assets in politics, as Wallis Simpson found out.

Pop Blend’s sincerest thoughts go out to the Putin family during this time of need. Here’s to hoping they maintain a friendship and continue to co-parent moving forward.