What do we know about Putin’s daughters, Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova?

While much is made of the Russian leader in the news bulletins across the world, not a lot is known about the private life of Vladimir Putin.

Back in 2015, Putin made a rare comment on his family, saying “my daughters live in Russia and studied only in Russia, I am proud of them. They speak three foreign languages fluently. I never discuss my family with anyone. Every person has a right for their fate, they live their own life and do it with dignity.”

Now, taking part in panels at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin’s daughters appeared in public for the first time in years.

How old are Putin’s daughters?

Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova are in their mid to late 30s, and were born during Putin’s marriage to his former wife Lyudmila, whom he married in 1983 when she was a flight attendant and he a KGB officer. The pair divorced in 2013 after nearly 30 years together.

Putin has said in the past that both of his daughters work in science and education. He even admitted that he has grandchildren - but he has never confirmed their names. “Regarding my grandchildren, one is already in nursery school. Please understand, I don’t want them to grow up like some kind of royal princes. I want them to grow up like normal people,” he said.

Maria Vorontsova, the eldest of the two, was born in 1985. She studied biology at St Petersburg University and medicine at Moscow State University. An endocrinologist, she spoke in person at a panel on Friday regarding biotechnology and bioproduction.

As for Katerina Tikhonova, it is known that she has a past as an aspiring rock-and-roll dancer, although nowadays she is a tech executive. CNN reported that, due to her work in supporting the Russian defence ministry, she, along with her sister, was sanctioned by the US and UK in April 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Regarding the wealth of the pair, the BBC wrote that one US official told them “we believe that many of Putin’s assets are hidden with family members, and that’s why we’re targeting them”.

Putin’s daughters attend flagship forum

CNN said that both of Putin’s daughters “have attended the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in the past”, adding that Russian independent outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe says “only the younger daughter, Tikhonova, has been a speaker”.

At the forum, it was Tikhonova who spoke via video link about ensuring the “technological sovereignty” of the military-industrial complex for the country.

Where do Putin’s daughters live?

While Putin claims that his daughters have never studied abroad and were successfully educated in Russia, CNN writes that “Vorontsova reportedly married a Dutch businessman” and that “the couple is said to have lived in a $3.3 million apartment in the Netherlands”.

They add that a “multimillion-dollar, eight-bedroom villa in Biarritz, France has been linked to Tikhonova” which was “bought by her former husband, Kirill Shamalov”.

The Kremlin, for its part, has always denied rumours that the leader of Russia has more children outside of his former marriage, all of whom appear to have lived in Western countries.