Putin's Mysterious Daughters Make Headlines at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

Vladimir Putin's daughters, who rarely appear in public and have various surnames, attended the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum last week, making headlines in the media. Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, aged 39 and 37, are from Putin's marriage to his former wife, from whom he divorced 14 years ago after thirty years of marriage. Putin has only stated that his daughters are active in science and education and that he has grandchildren, but he has not provided details about their names. Katerina Tikhonova, who was previously a dancer and is now a manager in the technology sector, gave a video speech at the forum. Through her work, she supports the Russian government and its defense industries. Katerina Tikhonova was sanctioned by the U.S. and the U.K. in 2022 due to this support following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In 2015, Bloomberg reported that a new $1.6 billion incubator and scientific center near Moscow State University was managed by Katerina Tikhonova. Maria Vorontsova, Putin's elder daughter, has also been sanctioned by the U.S. She spoke in person at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Maria manages programs that have received billions of dollars in state funding from the Kremlin for genetic research, which are personally overseen by Putin. The Anti-Corruption Foundation of Alexei Navalny, the late opposition leader in Russia, announced earlier this year that Maria Vorontsova earned over $10 million as an employee of a medical company between 2019 and 2022. According to Reuters' investigations, Maria Vorontsova is an endocrinologist and was married to a Dutch businessman. In 2015, Reuters revealed details of the lives of Putin's daughters. At that time, 29-year-old Katerina introduced herself as the wife of Kirill Shamalov, the son of Nikolai Shamalov, a longtime friend of Putin. Financial analysts estimated that the couple held shares in a company worth about $2 billion. They also own a beachfront villa in France, which was valued at around $3.7 million at that time. Analysts and U.S. government officials who have sanctioned Putin's daughters say that some of Putin's wealth is hidden in the bank accounts of his family members. This report was compiled using sources such as CNN, Reuters, and Bloomberg. New U.S. sanctions against two citizens and three Russian companies were imposed due to the transfer of military weapons between Russia and North Korea. An international court in the Netherlands has ordered Moscow to compensate shareholders of a former Russian oil company. Are two famous Russian gymnast babies the children of Vladimir Putin? The Panama Papers; revealing a vast money laundering network of several powerful figures in the world. Putin sees himself as the new 'Tsar'; perhaps the richest man in the world.