For a man who seems to use increasingly large pieces of furniture to put space between himself and his advisors, Russian President Vladimir Putin's photo opportunity on International Women's Day raised a few eyebrows.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is photographed with representatives of the flight crew of Russian airlines during his visit to the Aeroflot aviation training complex, in Moscow region, Russia. Photo: AFP/Sputnik
The 69-year-old, renowned for keeping his staff and even world leaders at arm's length, handed out bunches of flowers to young female flight attendants at a Moscow aviation school.
He then stood, solemn-faced, while the women in their red uniforms crowded around him for a photo.
The stark contradiction gives the world a glimpse into President Putin's mindset, according to Leonid Petrov, Politics and Business Expert at the International College of Management Sydney and the Australian National University.
His war in Ukraine, reportedly dragging on for far longer than he intended, appears to be making him more paranoid about his safety.
"Putin is surrounded by people who can get rid of him. This is why he keeps his distance," he said.
"But as a macho, he believes he can easily overpower a woman and that a woman would not do that to him."
Over decades in public life, Putin crafted an image as a tough man, posing for countless photo opportunities in which he is bare-chested while riding horses, swimming, sunbaking and fishing.
But women rarely feature prominently in the Putin cult of personality.
And when it comes to his personal affairs, Vladimir Putin is a closed book, with details surrounding the women he's linked with remaining a closely guarded subject.
Vladimir Putin (L) meets with French President Emmanuel Macron. He has been using longer tables for social-distancing reasons, but some experts say it also reveals his paranoia. Photo: SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images
The hidden lives of Russia's elite women
Putin divorced Russia's former first lady Lyudmila Ocheretnaya in 2014 after three decades of marriage.
They met after being invited to see a play by a mutual friend and they later moved to Germany, where he worked as a spy for the KGB.
The divorce was explained to Russia as a demonstration of Putin's commitment to his work.
"Our marriage is over due to the fact that we barely see each other," Ocheretnaya explained at the time.
"Vladimir is completely submerged in his work. Our children have grown up, each of them is living her own life ... I truly don't like publicity."
Their divorce isn't spoken about in Russian media today.
The couple had two daughters together: Maria Vorontsova, 36, a geneticist, and Katerina Tikhonova, 34, dancer-turned-mathematician.
The President rarely talks about his daughters and they are never seen in public.
Secrecy surrounding the wives of Russian leaders is a tradition that dates back centuries, according to Kyle Wilson, a former diplomat who studied and worked in Russia and is now a visiting fellow at the Centre for European Studies at ANU.
"Russia had a tradition ... that women of prominent families were kept out of sight, strongly discouraged if not actually banned from taking any public role," he said.
Vladimir Putin has two daughters who are rarely seen in public. Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Kremlin
Wilson said women enjoyed equal status - if in name only - for about a decade after the Marxist revolutionaries known as the Bolsheviks seized power of Russia in 1917.
"But [Soviet-era dictator Joseph] Stalin reimposed the old convention: the wives of his exclusively male court were rarely seen," he said.
"Today, few women occupy influential positions in the top echelon of power."
In fact, Vladimir Putin has included just one woman on his powerful security council.
And with no first lady by his side at public events, the Russian leader's rumoured long-term girlfriend remains hidden in the shadows.
The mysterious woman at the centre of Putin's life
Since his marriage breakdown, Vladimir Putin has been linked to several women, including Svetlana Krivonogikh, a Russian millionaire.
Krivonogikh has a 19-year-old daughter and lives in a luxury apartment in Monaco.
Neither Putin nor Krivonogikh has confirmed any such relationship.
The Russian President is also reported to be in a long-term relationship with former Olympic gold-medal-winning gymnast Alina Kabaeva.
Now a 38-year-old politician, Kabaeva is rumoured to have four children.
However, any discussion of alleged links appears to be forbidden in Russia.
In 2008, the Moskovsky Korrespondent newspaper reported the pair were engaged. They were immediately shut down.
"Who he has currently with him remains unconfirmed because Putin remains so secretive," said Petrov.
"As a former KGB operative, he avoids risks and will protect his family and private life at any cost."
Petrov said there were rumours circulating that Kabaeva and her children left Russia should the war in Ukraine escalate further and they needed "somewhere to hide".
A Russian newspaper first reported that Alina Kabaeva was dating Vladimir Putin in 2008. The paper was shut down. Photo: AFP
Wilson said the Kremlin elite were experts at secrecy and the Russian leader would never allow his people a glimpse of his private life.
"Putin and the cohort ... are very good at secrecy, it's their stock-in-trade. And there's an unspoken but universally understood prohibition on writing about the 'tsar's' personal affairs, that journalists fail to observe at their peril," he said.
"That said, there's any amount of voyeuristic gossip on the Russian web."
While his inner circle appears to be shrinking to Kabaeva and a handful of advisors, most experts believe it's unlikely that he's seeking counsel from his partner on Ukraine.
"Men like this would not take kindly to women interfering in the important business of national or world affairs," said Dr Sara Meger, a lecturer in International Relations from the University of Melbourne.
"And it would probably be very dangerous for her to do so."
Putin's cult of personality depends on secrecy
While other politicians embrace social media and parade their families on the world stage to win favour with voters, Putin is unlikely to ever blur the line between his private and personal lives.
Experts say Vladimir Putin has crafted a public image of a hyper-masculine leader while keeping his private life hidden. Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Kremlin
"I know that Western political culture implies family members have to be in the limelight," he said in 2020.
"I believe that we are not in a situation where such theatrics would be appropriate. Everything we do must be done in a mature way."
Experts say this choice is driven by Russian cultural and religious traditions.
"Putin is treading a fine line in terms of the people who support him," said Cai Wilkinson, an Associate Professor of International Relations from Deakin University.
"On one hand, he has a private life but on the other, he has the powerful Orthodox Church, which is all about family."
The President, who often speaks of trying to return Russia to "traditional family values" cannot allow a debate about the way he has behaved in his home life.
"The privacy around his personal life is about maintaining that great strategic facade and to shield himself against personal attacks," Merger said.
"Those images of Putin bare-chested are no accident."
- ABC