Myanmar Junta Chief’s Wife Took Friends to Russia on Shopping Trip
By The Irrawaddy 18 July 2022
Kyu Kyu Hla, the wife of Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, took other generals’ wives for company on her husband’s Russian visit last week.
San San, the wife of military-owned Myanmar Economic Corporation chief Lieutenant General Nyo Saw, Shwe Wah Tin Ohn, who is married to Adjutant General Lt-Gen Myo Zaw Thein, and Nilar, the wife of Military Security Affairs chief Ye Win Oo, joined the entourage.
Kyu Kyu Hla could not accompany her spouse on his previous trip to Moscow last year because it was an official visit. But last week’s trip was “personal”, according to the Russian authorities, allowing her to shop in Moscow.
The other wives are notorious as Kyu Kyu Hla’s inner circle who visit her home and join her on domestic and foreign trips.
Nilar nursed Kyu Kyu Hla’s bedridden mother for months, according to a striking army medic.
It is a military custom for officers’ wives to attend to the needs of commanders’ wives to improve their husbands’ promotion prospects.
The junta chief appears to have flown to Moscow largely to consecrate a Shwezigon pagoda replica in the Russian capital but he also held governmental talks during the visit.
Observers claimed Min Aung Hlaing held meetings with Russian government representatives to give the impression of a work trip because it was publicly funded.
