According to a study by “Proekt”, on February 23, 2017, Kabaeva flew to Almaty on a private business jet, an Embraer Legacy 650, and friends and family members did not accompany her on the trip. She flew back on the same aircraft four days later, while Putin’s official visit to Kazakhstan began on February 27, and he traveled to the country on the presidential plane.
Later, state media acknowledged that the Russian president had flown in to meet Nursultan Nazarbayev several days earlier and spent that time in informal talks with him at the Shymbulak ski resort near Almaty. It was there, according to the study, that Putin and Kabaeva were in the same country at the same time, although they flew there separately.
“Proekt” writes that this is the only confirmed case in which Kabaeva effectively performed the duties of Russia’s first lady. The media did not report her visit at the time, and researchers link this to the fact that Putin’s and Kabaeva’s relationship is not publicized.
The D-AHOI aircraft is operated by VistaJet; at the time of that trip the company was called Air Hamburg, and the plane can be chartered. According to “Proekt”’s calculations, Kabaeva’s flight to Almaty could have cost $26,000.
The study also cites another episode: at the end of June 2016, Putin and Kabaeva were in Uzbekistan at the same time. Putin flew there on June 23 for the SCO summit, and on June 30 Kabaeva returned to Moscow on an Aeroflot flight; there is no record in the leak data of her departure from Russia for that period, and “Proekt” suggests that she may have flown on a government plane.
