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Vladimir Putin works so much it is difficult for him to have a personal life
Vladimir Putin works so much it is difficult for him to have a personal life
"It's his decision and he's not obliged to talk about his personal life," Mr Peskov told Izvestia. "He works so much I don't know where he finds time for it."
Rumours that he had remarried were started by a Twitter user who claimed last week that the Federal Guards Service had blocked roads around the Iversky monastery in the Valdai Hills because "Putin and Kabayeva are being crowned," a reference to Russian wedding traditions.
It snowballed after being retweeted by opposition leader Alexei Navalny, prompting Mr Peskov to call it "an exercise in boredom."
The rumours, however, have refused to die, prompting Izvestia to ask whether a "healthy man" like Mr Putin should not have a personal life.
"You know, it's perfectly normal question, it has a right to exist. But I will answer it quite simply. We all voted for a president at the elections, so let's pay attention to what kind of president he is. And what kind of man he is, whether he has a wife or not - let's leave that to him."
Vladimir Putin has long been rumoured to be romantically involved with Ms Kabayeva, but the relationship has never been acknowledged publicly.
Reporting on Mr Putin's personal life has been effectively taboo for Russian media since tabloid Moskovsky Korrespondent was closed down after reporting similar marriage rumours about the couple in 2008.
Mr Peskov seemed to acknowledge, however, that nothing the Kremlin can say will put an end to the rumours.
"It is useless to call them nonsense. We've done that a hundred times. But the rumours live, and what can you do about it?"
Busy doing what exactly? Listening to some bird songs, perhaps?
In Russian bylinas, i.e. true stories, revolve around some interesting characters, and one of them is the Nightingale the Robber, an epic bird that with his terrifying whistle could level surrounding forrest _[Link] For more on this story read here: _[Link]
"He was said to live in a forest near Bryansk, and would sit in a tree by the road to Kiev and stun strangers with his powerful whistle. It is said that Nightingale the Robber would scream, "All the grasses and meadows become entangled, the azure flowers lose their petals, all the dark woods bend down to the earth, and all the people there lie dead!"
It very well may be that this whistling brought about many horrible events to the Russian people. It looks like the Russian Revolution of 1905 was a starting point, and the tragedy that followed (World War I, Russian Revolution of 1917, Russian genocide during the Stalin's rule) not only almost completely decimated the Russian population, but if one keeps in mind the events of World War II with its the mass extermination of people worldwide, it becomes quite clear what kind of bird this is.
There is a true hero in this story too and his name is Ilya Muromets. So, let's read what the story tells us:
"According to legend, he was defeated by Ilya Muromets, who survived even though Razboynik levelled half of the surrounding forest. Nightingale the Robber was shot down with arrows to the eye and temple by Ilya Muromets, who then dragged the defeated monster to Vladimir, the prince of Kiev. Vladimir the Great wished to hear Nightingale the Robber whistle, but the creature claimed he was too wounded to whistle.
Nightingale the Robber requested wine to drink so that his wounds would disappear, then he would whistle for the prince. When he whistled all of Vladimir's palaces were destroyed and many lay dead. After this, Ilya Muromets took Nightingale the Robber into an open field and cut off his head"