Russian President Vladimir Putin's ex-wife Lyudmila Shkrebneva once revealed that his marriage proposal was so bizarre that she thought he was breaking up with her.
Putin tied the knot with Shkrebneva in 1983, and the couple has two daughters - Mariya Putina and?Katerina Tikhonova.
The Russian president has always been discreet about his personal life. However, the couple had announced they were getting divorced in 2013.?
In the year 2000, Putin released a biography titled First Person: An Astonishingly Frank Self-Portrait by Russia's President which featured several interviews with him and those closest to him.?One of those interviews featured Shkrebneva who shared some details of their relationship.
She said that she didn't think much after going on a double date with a "poorly-dressed" Putin, but the pair kept in touch after he gave her his phone number. They later fell in love.After three and a half years, Putin proposed, but his less-than-romantic way made Shkrebneva think that she was being dumped.?
She told the interviewer, "One night we were sitting in this house and he said, You know what kind of person I am by now. In general, I'm not very easygoing.' He was being self-critical. He explained that he was the silent type; that he was rather abrupt in some things and he could even insult people, and so on."
Shkrebneva recalled, "He was saying that he was a risky life partner. And he added, 'In three and a half years, you have probably made up your mind.' It sounded to me like we were breaking up. 'Yes, I've made up my mind,' I said. He let out a doubtful, 'Yes?'"?
She added, "Then I was sure that that was it, we were breaking up. But then he said, 'Well then if that is the way it is, I love you and propose we get married.' So it all came as a complete surprise to me."
Now, that self-claimed "not so easygoing" person ordered Russian troops to invade Ukraine?17 days ago which has led to a drastic loss of life and property.?
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