Documentary Claims Putin Beat His Ex-Wife, Was Drunk KGB Agent

A new documentary on Russian President Vladimir Putin from German television claims he received a face-lift, beat up his ex-wife, and drank heavily as a KGB agent in East Germany.

“Putin the Man” states Putin fears growing old and resorted to cosmetic surgery to appear youthful. Putin often stages photo ops without a shirt on to show off his build. He also enjoys “hot and cold baths, followed by gym sessions to hone his macho physique.” Putin eats cottage cheese for dinner to maintain his build, sleeps in, and prefers to work in the afternoon, the documentary claims. This causes major problems with other world leaders since he is often late for appointments. He once kept Queen Elizabeth II waiting for half an hour. From Newsweek:

Some of the allegations are already quite well known. Ben Judah, who has written extensively about the Russian president for Newsweek, was contacted for the programme. In a Newsweek feature based on a large number of interviews with insiders, Judah explained that Putin likes to rise late and does most of his work in the afternoon, is a fitness fanatic and keeps busy even on the weekend, sometimes has study sessions in the afternoon, mostly in English, while his teacher helps him learn difficult words by singing songs with him. He is thought to pray or make a confession on occasional Sundays.

According to Judah, Putin commands such fascination, both in Europe and abroad, because of the current crisis in eastern Ukraine. “He has gone to war and is attacking people, what could be more important?” But Judah thinks that as well as being a figure who commands fear, the West also likes to mock him. “He comforts the West as a figure of ridicule,” he says.

Putin neglected his health when he worked as a KGB agent in East Germany during the Cold War. Files state Putin “was overweight and a heavy drinker.” He once lost keys to extremely sensitive KGB files.

“He was depressed, fat, lazy and disillusioned,” said author and activist Mahsa Gessen.

A woman only identified as “Mrs. H.” asserted Putin “grabbed her particularly fiercely, hugging and kissing her.” Putin’s colleagues blamed the incident on alcohol. He also took credit for talking protesters down from the Berlin Wall in 1989, but Siegfried Dannath, a demonstrator, alleged Putin only told the people “his men had orders to shoot.”

He married former Aeroflat stewardess Lyudmila in 1983. One source declared that Putin beat her on a regular basis. The pair had two daughters, but divorced in 2014. He also escaped at least five assassination attempts in London, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tehran, and Baku.