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Reporting on Mr Putin’s personal life has been effectively taboo for Russian media since the tabloid Moskovsky Korrespondent was closed down after reporting similar marriage rumours about the president and Ms Kabayeva, in 2008.

Mr Peskov seemed to acknowledge, however, that nothing the Kremlin can say will put an end to the rumours.

“It is useless to call them nonsense. We’ve done that a hundred times,” he said.

“But the rumours live, and what can you do about it?”

In June, Mr Putin and his wife of 30 years Lyudmila announced their divorce after 30 years of marriage.

In a stilted – but clearly staged – interview on Russian state television after a night together at the ballet, the couple said they had agreed to a “civilized break-up” because they barely saw each other.

The announcement will likely only fuel speculation about Mr Putin’s private life. The 60-year-old Russian president has been dogged by rumours for years that he had an affair with Alina Kabayeva, a 30-year-old politician and former Olympic rhythmic gymnast, although no hard evidence has ever been presented to confirm that.

The Russian leader and his wife, 55, spoke after attending a performance of La Esmeralda – a ballet inspired by the story of the Hunchback of Notre Dame – at the State Kremlin palace, their first public engagement together since his returned to the presidency in May last year.

Mrs Putina appears only very rarely in public. She was said to be living far away from the Kremlin, in a state-owned retreat on the border with Estonia. Some reports even suggested she joined a convent.