Putin's childhood: the horror that was remembered years later

A book by Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich includes recollections of a family acquaintance from Leningrad, who describes Russian President Vladimir Putin's father as a heavy drinker. Putin himself claims he never saw his father drunk. The article also cites other sources about the hard work of Putin's mother and an episode from the book "The Tsar in Person" claiming that Putin's mother had one eye since her youth.

An article based on the book by Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich publishes the recollections of a family acquaintance from Leningrad. The woman describes the father of the Russian president, Vladimir Spiridonovich, as a "heavy drinker." She also recalls that Putin's mother, Maria, worked as a night watchman and cleaner, and that little and thin Vova was scolded at parent-teacher meetings for fighting. Putin himself in January 2024 categorically denied ever seeing his father drunk. The article also references the book "The Tsar in Person" by Roman Badanin and Mikhail Rubin, which claims that Putin's mother had one eye since her youth, and that her other eye was gouged out in a rage by the future leader's father with a pitchfork. The material is a retelling of biographical details from Western journalistic investigations, contrasting them with Putin's official version.

Putin's childhood: the horror that was remembered years later