Her story did not fly in Russia, where the president ignored it and it sounded like Georgians making mischief. But beyond, and abroad, journalists were intrigued
The photos were only copies now. Soon after she made her claim, thecame to her house, took the originals away and told her not to talk. But this was the most exciting happening in the village for years. Metekhi was a dirt-poor farming place at the foot of the Caucasus in Georgia, on the Kura river. The houses were shoddy brick and patched cement, with rusty fences. The roads, though grandly named after Stalin, were mostly dirt.
She was 73 when she came forward, having seen him on her new television on the news. Until then, she had kept quiet. But she was convinced that Vladimir Putin, “Vova” as she called him, was her lost, special child. He was the result of a college affair, a mad fling after a dance with another student, Platon Privalov. When she later learned Platon was married, she broke it off the next day. But by then she was pregnant with Vova.
The marriage lasted, but it didn’t go well. They argued all the time. Giorgi said he had money, but his parents’ house in Metekhi, where he took her, was a half-ruined hut. He made a peasant out of her. And then Vova set them fighting. Not because he was a nuisance; he liked fishing and reading, especially Russian fables, and did beautiful calligraphy. True, he could get furious when he wrestled, refusing to lose, and he tormented the neighbours’ chickens with his catapult, which she still kept.
That idea did not fly in Russia, where the president ignored it and it sounded like Georgians making mischief. But beyond, and abroad, journalists were intrigued. They noted that Mr Putin gave almost no details of his childhood up to the age of ten. It was likely, too, that he would hide any Georgian connection, which made him half-foreign and invoked Stalin’s ghost. Some facts stacked up: in 2008 thefound that a Vladimir Putin had indeed attended Metekhi school for three years.
As she laboured, she also mused about Vova. She wondered why the “foster parents”, both of whom died in the 1990s, had never publicly talked of him. Presumably they too had been told not to. Then again, men who joined theShe had not forgotten him. There were times, especially when he invaded Georgia in 2008, when she felt ashamed of him. But in general she felt more ashamed of herself.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Rishi Sunak criticises Sir Keir Starmer over 'bizarre' North Sea oil and gas banThe prime minister accused the Labour leader of leading the UK into 'energy surrender' with his proposal, claiming it would 'only benefit Vladimir Putin'.
Read more »
West Ham fans in stitches at Coufal's 'Jar Jar Binks' impression of NobleWest Ham star Vladimir Coufal has left fans in stitches after he and Tomas Soucek did their best impression of club legend Mark Noble. The Czech Republic duo hilariously attempted to speak in a coc…
Read more »
Ukraine war latest: Kremlin rages over 'attack' on Russian city 110 miles over border - as Putin 'calls off annual news conference in illustration of his decline'Amid reports of heavy fighting in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, the Kremlin hits out at Kyiv over a purported drone strike on a Russian city - and it is claimed Vladimir Putin has delayed an annual news conference. Listen to our daily podcast on the war as you scroll.
Read more »
'I launched hacking claim to stop abuse of Meghan,' Prince Harry tells High CourtPrince Harry launched his phone hacking claim against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) to ‘stop the abuse and intrusion’ that he and Meghan Markle faced, the High Court heard today.
Read more »