Putin's elusive heirs: Unraveling the lives of his daughters
Vladimir Putin has never publicly commented in detail on the lives of his adult daughters, including their business activities, families, and children. Nevertheless, at least two are involved in projects significant to the leader. What is known about the daughters of the Russian president?
The investigation was conducted by the independent Russian portal Verstka.
Officially, Vladimir Putin has two daughters: the elder, Maria, and the younger, Katerina, who were born during his marriage to Lyudmila Putina. Maria was born in Leningrad in 1985 and Katerina in Dresden in 1986, where Putin worked as a KGB officer. According to Putin, Katerina began speaking German before Russian. Even ten years after leaving Germany, in the early 2000s, the children still spoke German with each other.
Maria and Katerina are the only children of Putin mentioned in his authorised biography published in 2000. In childhood, they were called Masha and Katya. They were 15 and 14 years old when the book was released, but it exclusively talks about their childhood. Their photos did not appear in the press, and it was unknown where they studied, what they did, or if they had a personal life.
Currently, Putin's daughters are 39, 38, and 21 years old.
The alleged third daughter of the president is Elizaveta Krivonogikh, born in 2003. Information about her appeared only in 2020. Journalists who discovered her described her as "incredibly similar to her father." She uses the pseudonym "Luiza Rozova."
What does Putin's elder daughter, Maria Vorontsova, do?
Putin's elder daughter, Maria Vorontsova, graduated in medicine from Moscow State University (MGU) and lived in the Netherlands for several years, spending at least a few months a year there until 2014. She is an endocrinologist and conducts scientific research. She works as a senior researcher at the National Research Centre for Endocrinology of the Ministry of Health and as a deputy dean for science at the Faculty of Fundamental Medicine at MGU.
Vorontsova sits on the council for the development of genetic technologies. Before the war, the Russian government planned to allocate 127 billion rubles to the state genetic programme. However, the main source of Maria's income is the company "Nomeko," where she is a board of directors member. The company is involved in innovative medicine. In 2020, the company had a profit of approximately £5 million, in 2021 – approximately £6 million, and in 2022 – approximately £6.3 million. From the company's earnings and Vorontsova's salary over three years, she could have earned about 944 million rubles (around £7.4 million).
In 2022, the company took over the "SOGAZ Medicine" clinic in St. Petersburg, which serves Putin's close associates, security officials, and members of the Wagner group.
What does the younger daughter, Katerina Tikhonova, do?
Katerina Tikhonova is the director of the "Innopraktyka" foundation, which implements new technologies in Russian industry. In 2023, the company achieved a profit of approximately £1.7 million, fulfilling orders mainly for state corporations. Tikhonova is also responsible for developing the MGU "Vorobyovy Gory" science and technology centre, which received over 500 million rubles from the budget. She is also the deputy director of the Institute of Mathematical Research of Complex Systems at MGU.
In 2015, Tikhonova married Kirill Shamalov, the son of Putin's close friend. After the wedding, Shamalov bought shares in the company "Sibur" worth £297 million for just £78. In 2018, the couple separated.
Does Putin have more children?
Journalistic investigations suggest that besides the three daughters, Putin has two sons – Ivan and Vladimir, whose mother is Alina Kabaeva. The sons spend most of their time in presidential residences, rarely leaving the premises. They have access to a luxurious life, including private tutors, cooks, and security.
Putin's children live in isolation, and information about them remains strictly confidential.
