Putin has two daughters - Mariya Putina and Tekaterina Putina - who were both born in Dresden, East Germany, in the mid-1980s. However their existence has remained almost completely secret since - little-to-nothing is actually known of them. No official family photography has ever been produced, and the Russian media have never published any pictures of them.The Russian President loves dogs and keeps several as pets - and he also uses them as political devices to scare the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, it seems. It was alleged in January 2007 that Putin brought his black labrador, Koni, to Sochi for a diplomatic meeting with Merkel - knowing full well she is petrified of dogs, having been bitten by one as a youngster - in order to intimidate her. The meeting - involving discussions over Russia's supply of energy to Germany - ended with Merkel nervously commenting: "Now the dog is going to eat the journalists..."
