Russian Vogue has put 2004 Olympic rhythmic champion Alina Kabayeva on its January 2011 cover. The lovely 27-year-old is shown posing in a sparkling golden dress by Balmain couture.
The beautiful Kabayeva (who was known as "smiley" for her grand grin whenever she stepped on the mat) pops up every now and then linked with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kabayeva and Putin was rumored to be having an affair a couple years ago, and there was even some talk that Putin was planning to divorce his wife Lyudmila and marry her.
Is putting Kabayeva on its cover an act political defiance on the part of Vogue, I wonder, or is the cover story on "golden girl" totally silent about the affair? Recall that the paper that initially reported Kabayeva and Putin were together, despite being cast as a scandal sheet, was shut down within days of running the story.
These days, Kabayeva, like Svetlana Khorkina, is a deputy in the Duma, the lower house of Russian Parliament.
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