Putin at centre of marriage mystery: Kremlin denies claims Russian President has married former Olympic gymnast Claims dismissed by aide as 'an internet exercise to relieve boredom' The Russian President was said to have married Alina Kabayeva Denial: The Kremlin dismissed rumours that Mr Putin has married ALina Kabayeva The Kremlin was forced to deny claims yesterday that Vladimir Putin has married former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabayeva. Rumours that the recently divorced Russian president was marrying in the town of Valdai swept the internet. Alexei Navalny, Putin's most charismatic political rival, tweeted: "I'm told that Putin and Kabayeva are marrying today at the Iver Monastery. All of Valdai sealed off. However, Mr Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, later dismissed the claims as "an internet exercise to relieve boredom." Valdai is in the Novgorod region, where 60-year-old Putin was based last week for an international conference involving politicians and journalists. His aides have repeatedly denied he is involved in a relationship with the gold medal-winning gymnast, 30, pictured right. Claims that the pair have children together have also been dismissed. This week the former KGB man indicated he may stand for office again in 2018. Putin was first elected in 2000 and served two four year terms until he handed control of the country to puppet president Dmitry Medvedev who served until 2012 when Putin was reelected, this time for a six-year term. Hint: Mr Putin has this week revealed he could run for a fourth consecutive term bringing his tenure to 25 years