Vladimir Putin’s brother died mysterious death: ‘Buried here somewhere’

Vladimir Putin and the West continue to be at loggerheads amid fears of a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Russian President has said today that military drills near the border of the country are “purely defensive” and “not a threat to any other country.” Earlier on Friday, Russia announced it was going to be holding nuclear drills on Saturday and Putin would personally be overseeing the exercise, along with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. While Putin denies any invasion plans, the US has said the military buildup is the the biggest since World War 2.

Vice President Kamala Harris also warned that any Russian invasion of Ukraine will attract “severe consequence” in the form of sanctions from the US and its allies.

President Putin has been known for decades as a ruthless figure in the world of geopolitics.

He is also a man of mystery, with experts regularly debating what motivates his domestic and foreign policy.

It is also rare that Putin gives an insight into his private life, but in 2012, he surprised many when he discussed the death of his brother.

He described the loss that his family suffered during the 872-day siege of Leningrad, the Soviet-era name for St Petersburg, when his one-year-old brother was taken from his mother, died in a children’s home and was buried in an unmarked grave.

Putin spoke during an annual wreath-laying in St Petersburg, where 470,000 civilians and soldiers were buried in mass graves.

He said: “My brother, whom I have never seen and did not know, was buried here, I don’t even know where exactly.”

“My parents told me that children were taken from their families in 1941, and my mother had a child taken from her — with the goal of saving him.

“They said he had died, but they never said where he was buried.”

Putin, born in 1952, was his parents’ third son but was the only one to survive. The first Putin son died in infancy, and his second brother was the one taken away in the St Petersburg siege.

In his biography, Putin describes his upbringing.

READ MORE: Nigel Farage exposes internal EU row hindering Russia response

He was posted to Dresden, East Germany from 1985 to 1990 and was later appointed head of the FSB, the KGB’s successor agency.

Putin has been Russian President since 2012, and is currently in his second term. He previously led the country from 1999 until 2008.

He continues to keep his life outside of politics extremely private, rarely talking about his family.

Putin has two daughters, Maria Vorontsova and Yekaterina Tikhonova, but he very rarely talks about them.

Both are in their thirties, and both have been kept out of the spotlight by the Russian President.

Mariya has a career in medical research and is reportedly an expert on dwarfism.

Yekaterina is a former dancer who now leads a major Russian artificial intelligence initiative.