Vladimir Putin and his wife announce their separation in TV interview

Russian president and Lyudmila Putin reveal that they are no longer living together by 'their common decision'
Vladimir and Lyudmila Putin
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Lyudmila Putin leave a poling station in Moscow in March 2012. Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

Vladimir Putin and his wife, Lyudmila, have announced their separation after 30 years of marriage, ending years of speculation about their relationship. She had rarely been seen in public in recent months, prompting media speculation about the president's marriage.

Confirmation came on Thursday evening when the Putins gave an interview to the state-run TV channel Russia 24 after attending a ballet at the State Kremlin Palace. Asked about a rumour that they no longer lived together, Putin, 60, said: "That is true."

Mrs Putin, 55, said it had been "our common decision. And our marriage is over due to the fact that we barely see each other".

Asked if they had divorced, she said it was a "civilised divorce". But Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, later clarified that the Putins aren't yet legally divorced and that he didn't know when the divorce proceedings would be finalized.

"Everything that's related to Putin's personal life is his business alone, he has never made it a subject for public discussion. That's his principle, and he has earned that right, so let's treat it with respect," Peskov said.

The couple, who have two daughters in their 20s, had last been seen in public together at Putin's inauguration to his third presidential term in May 2012.

"We really love our children, are very proud of them and see them regularly," Putin said. Rumours that he and his wife had separated have circulated for years, and amount to Moscow's worst kept secret. During one of their rare public appearances together back in 2010, they sat awkwardly on a sofa as a census-taker asked them questions.

Mrs Putin – or Mrs Putina in Russian – seemed dazed, and uncertain how to react in the presence of her husband. Her demeanour fuelled allegations that she had retired to an Orthodox convent or was leading a life separate from her husband.

During Putin's first presidential stint between 2000 and 2004, he took his wife on several foreign trips. But by his second term he was travelling solo. Meanwhile there was speculation that Putin had embarked on a series of dalliances with other, much younger women. In 2008 he publicly denied claims that he was about to divorce his wife and marry Alina Kabaeva, a 27-year-old rhythmical gymnast with "incredible flexibility". Evening Standard owner Alexander Lebedev shut down his tabloid Moscow newspaper after it broke the story.

During a visit to Italy and while standing alongside – fittingly – Silvio Berlusconi, Putin was asked about the story by a brave female reporter.

Putin replied: "There is not a word of truth in what you say." Then he added: "I have always treated badly those who poke their noses and their erotic fantasies into someone else's life."

Speculation about Putin's love life is paradoxically a product of the Kremlin's own ultra-secretive habits.

Since becoming president in 2000, Putin has starred in a non-stop action-man drama – skiing down volcanoes, stunning tigers and polar bears, and even flying with cranes, his exploits covered nightly by state-controlled TV.

But despite this exhaustive image management, Kremlin aides have said nothing about Putin's personal life. There are practically no photos of the Putins' two grown-up daughters.

For months at a time, Mrs Putin would vanish, as if kidnapped by aliens. Given this news blackout it was inevitable that half-truths, educated speculation and lurid nonsense would fill the vacuum.

Lyudmila's confirmation that she and her husband have split is the rarest thing in Moscow's twilight informational world: a genuine fact.

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