The timing certainly seemed suspicious—days before Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife, Lyudmila Putina, announced their divorce in a painfully clumsy televised interview, the state’s main television station broadcast a documentary paean to a beauty named Alina Kabaeva. A onetime Olympic gold-medal champion in rhythmic gymnastics and a parliamentary deputy in Russia’s Duma, Kabaeva has long been rumored to be Putin’s official mistress. The documentary, and its timing, seemed to confirm Kabaeva’s ascent—the hourlong film portrayed her as Russia’s queen, its main heroine, and a shining example for all modern Russian women. It praised Kabaeva for her feminine qualities, patriotism, and strong character, and for being a good example for little gymnasts, Russia’s future champions.