Meet Russia’s sexiest war influencer – the soldier’s wife and glamorous Kremlin puppet whose first word was ‘Putin’

RUSSIA’S sexiest war influencer is a soldier’s wife and glamorous Kremlin puppet, whose first word was “Putin”. One of the Russian President’s most effective propagandists is 25-year-old Maria Chadina. Maria Chadina appears to be glamorously made-up in her social media posts which promote Russia in the Ukraine War Credit: East2West Her videos have gained some 400,000 followers on her social media channels Credit: East2West While appearing in designer clothes and immaculate make-up, along with a velvety voice she promotes Russia’s campaign in the war with Ukraine to hundreds of thousands of her followers on social media. But behind the polished photographs and romantic videos there is an online lifestyle warrior guided by a Kremlin-linked indoctrination agency bent on turning Putin’s illegal invasion into something glamorous, fashionable – and even sexy. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Unlike Putin’s army of ranting male television firebrands who threaten Britain with nuclear destruction and Ukraine with ceasing to exist, Chadina speaks softly about love, marriage and patriotism from stylish apartments and fashionable cafés. Yet her message is the same, stressing there is no alternative to Putin’s war which has already killed and maimed 1.5million of his own people. The 25-year-old portrays Vladimir Putin’s illegal campaign in Ukraine as something glamorous Credit: East2West Her posts mix cosmetics, clothes and domestic romance with fundraisers for Russian troops and carefully packaged pro-war messages Credit: East2West She tells followers that Ukraine’s not a real country, denies Russia is politically repressive, and reassures followers that Putin will not order another mobilisation even as plans seem afoot for exactly this ominous mass call-up. She has also demanded revenge after Ukrainian attacks, once tearfully declaring: “It doesn’t matter how. Even launch Oreshnik” – a reference to Russia’s feared nuclear-capable ballistic missile. Chadina hits back at suggestions that she is the Kremlin’s glamorous new weapon. In a sarcastic video addressing the allegations, she opened in English: “Thank you for your attention to my humble person, but you’re mistaken. Most read in The Sun Chadina claims she isn’t ‘Putin’s glamorous propaganda’ Credit: East2West Chadina with her second husband Vladimir Chadin who is fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine Credit: East2West “I’m not Putin’s glamorous propaganda. “I’m just a simple Russian girl. And my name is Masha [Maria] Chadina. Thanks. Grand merci.” Switching to Russian, she joked that she was born in 2000, the year Putin came to power and added: “My first word, by the way, wasn’t ‘Mum’, but ‘Putin’.” She thanked her history tutor for ensuring she understood why the war started. She means the Kremlin-approved version that blames Ukraine and the West. Chadina then joked that her soldier husband Vova [Vladimir] had gone to war “just so I could start a blog”. She hoped “the Kremlin will finally recognise me. “And, as they say, finally, 12 points goes to Russia.” Chadina’s rise from provincial reporter to an influencer with almost 400,000 followers on Instagram – officially banned in Russian – is choreographed by Base Media, a shadowy pro-Putin agency which boasts: “We create media that influences society.” The company is owned by the mother of Sargis Mirzakhanyan, a pro-government political strategist previously accused of promoting Kremlin interests among European politicians. Base Media also produces content involving notorious Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus, who have repeatedly duped Western politicians and celebrities while pushing Moscow-friendly narratives. An employee of Dialog, an organisation helping the Kremlin manage online messaging, told Novaya Gazeta Europe that Chadina initially attracted followers organically before pro-Putin professionals stepped in to refine her image. “She was in the right place at the right time,” said a source. “Her channel and videos were just right: a sweet, beautiful young wife of a [war] soldier, a patriot.” She is also linked to a project by Defenders of the Fatherland, headed by Putin’s niece Anna Tsivileva, who is also Deputy Defence Minister. With a daughter from her first marriage, she met her second husband, Russian Railways employee Vladimir Chadin, on a dating app. He soon signed up to fight in Ukraine and has reportedly been wounded twice. Videos showing Chadina waiting anxiously for Vladimir and embracing him during reunions have attracted hundreds of thousands of views, particularly from other soldiers’ wives. She turns on its head the stereotype of the impoverished and forgotten Russian military spouse. Alongside a glamorous photograph, she wrote: “Let’s stop thinking that the wives of SVO [war] soldiers are necessarily marginalised, uneducated, without opinions and without the right to feel like women. “We can be beautiful and sexy. While remaining faithful and loving. Devoted to our husbands. Agreed?” Her posts mix cosmetics, clothes and domestic romance with fundraisers for Russian troops and carefully packaged pro-war messages. She has appeared at Putin’s annual televised press conference and was reportedly granted access to a prisoner exchange with Ukraine. In May, in an elegant black dress she collected a national internet-content award for Russia’s fastest-growing political blog of 2025. Dedicating it to Vladimir at the front, she said through tears: “Vova, we won. And we will all win. Victory will be ours.” Pro-war image-makers in Moscow evidently see her mix of beauty, vulnerability and carefully controlled patriotism as a more potent propaganda tool than hoary old state broadcasters like doyen of the bile merchants Vladimir Solovyov. Russian journalist and propaganda researcher Maria Borzunova said Maria appears to share the pain of ordinary military families. “She’s supposedly one of us because she’s also waiting for her lover to return from the war,” she said. “She’s not Vladimir Solovyov telling [everyone] how to live from a cosy studio.” One critical commenter said: “This is “Solovyov in a skirt.” Another mocked her: “With tears in her eyes, she remembers her husband, who kills people in a foreign country.” Fashion journalist Katya Fedorova said Chadina had transformed the soldier’s wife into a secular, European-looking figure with “a beautiful apartment, fashionable clothes and a fancy café”. She added: “She shows that a military wife can be a very modern woman, making this image more elite. “That, in my opinion, is a major victory for Russian propaganda.” Chadina has been accused of “the most dangerous form of propaganda – people get so caught up in the beautiful imagery they fail to analyse what Maria is saying.” Chadina gleefully reposted the criticism by the liberal Novaya Gazeta Europe. “They are afraid of me!” she posted with a smiling emoji. Comment now