Divorce unlikely to hurt Putin's image: expert

Russian President Vladimir Putin's divorce announcement on Thursday did take many by surprise, but the move is unlikely to hurt his public image or cause major political repercussions, a political analyst said on Friday.

In a rare appearance together on state television, Putin and his wife Lyudmila revealed on Thursday that their 30-year marriage was over. The Putins married in 1983 and have two daughters, both in their 20s.