Russia President Vladimir Putin and wife Lyudmila announce divorce

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife, Lyudmila, sit in a cafe in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Dec. 22, 2007.  (Mikhail Klimentyev / Associated Press)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and wife Lyudmila, left, and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and wife Veronica Lario at the Putins’ residence in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on Aug. 28, 2005.   (Mikhail Metzel / Associated Press)

Russian President Vladimir Putin talks with his wife, Lyudmila, prior to a Victory Day Parade in Moscow on May 9, 2005.  (Sergei Chirikov / EPA)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife, Lyudmila, walk to a polling station in Moscow during parliamentary elections on Dec. 7, 2003.  (Sergei Chirikov / EPA)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and wife Lyudmila wait for President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush at Putin’s Novo-Ogarevo residence outside Moscow on May 24, 2002.  (Mikhail Metzel / Associated Press)

Vladimir Putin arrives with his wife, Lyudmila, to cast his vote in the Russian presidential elections at a polling station in Moscow on March 26, 2000.  (Yuri Kadobnov / AFP)