Inside Vladimir Putin’s secret family: A daughter in Paris, ‘two sons’ hiding in Russia (2024)

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Does Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’s have an illegitimate daughter in France?

Elizaveta Krivonogikh, 21, is reportedly working as a DJ and living under a pseudonym in Paris.

But what do we know about her? And what about Putin’s other children?

Who are they? Where are they? What are they up to?

Let’s take a closer look:

Elizaveta Krivonogikh

According to The Telegraph, the 21-year-old lives under the name Luiza Rozova or Elizaveta Olegovna Rudnova.

Ukrainian TV channel TSN tracked Elizaveta down via leaked airline manifests.

Elizaveta is thought to be the result of an affair betweenPutin and Svetlana Krivonogikh.

Krivonogikh, a former cleaner, is one of Russia’s richest women.

She owns assets worth around $105 million, including “several houses” in Monte Carlo and a yacht.

Krivonogikh has been called “Putin’s acquaintance” by the state media.

She is thought to have met Putin and developed a romantic relationship with him when he was deputy mayor of her hometown St. Petersburg, as per Daily Mail.

As per Hindustan Times, Elizaveta has been in Paris under an assumed name since theUkraine war began.

She is claiming to be a relative of Oleg Rudnov – a late associate of Vladimir Putin.

According to The Telegraph, Rudnov passed away in 2015.

The report indicates that she has taken on this pseudonym to keep her real identity a secret.

According to Elizaveta’s birth certificate, she was born on March 3, 2003.

The father’s name was not mentioned on the birth certificate.

However, her patronymic name was given as Vladimirovna.

Putin’s daughters, under Russia’s traditional naming conventions, would indeed take such a name.

According to Daily Mail, Elizaveta was a student at the Paris School of Management and Arts.

She was active on social media a couple of years ago – regularly posting images of herself at parties, spending time with friends from wealthy families and jet-setting around the world.

However, Elizaveta deactivated her accounts after theUkraine war began.

In a Clubhouse interview in 2021, Elizaveta denied any link to Putin.

“Listen, judging by his young photos, probably, yes, it looks similar. But, as it turned out, there are a lot of people who look like Vladimir Vladimirovich,” she said, using his formal name.

“I watch, you know, fashion shows, I buy Vogue magazine. I like to go to a nearby restaurant and eat delicious pasta, discuss the latest gossip investigations with friends,” she added.

She, prior to the war, also said she loved being in the limelight.

“My life was so stagnant, I am very grateful for the chance to be in the limelight, that people heard about my account. I’m not trying and never have to popularise myself. I am feeling very well indeed, don’t worry about me. My life goes on, and all is well,” she said, as per Daily Mail.

The Kremlin denounced this report as being from the “gutter press,” according to the Daily Beast.

Maria and Katerina

Officially, Putin hastwo daughters – Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova.

Their mother, Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Ocheretnaya, was Putin’s first wife.

As per CNN, They met when she was a flight attendant and he was serving as a KGB officer.

The couple divorced in 2013 after almost 30 years of marriage.

As per BBC, Vorontsova, the older sister was born in 1985.

She studied biology at St Petersburg University and later medicine at Moscow State University.

According to CNN, Tikhonova is a tech executive while Vorontsova is an endocrinologist and is listed as a member of the Russian Association for the Promotion of Science.

Vorontsova co-wrote a book on stunted growth in children and is also a businesswoman.

Both women appeared at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum earlier this year.

Vorontsova is reportedly married to a Dutch businessman – though they are thought to have separated.

The couple is said to have a $3.3 million apartment in the Netherlands.

Tikhonova reportedly once tried to pursue a career in acrobatic rock and roll.

She is thought to have a multimillion-dollar, eight-bedroom villa in France’s Biarritz purchased by her former husband Kirill Shamalov.

Putin has said his daughters work in science and education. He has said that they are not involved in politics and want to lead normal lives, as per CNN.

Putin has not spoken about his daughters at any length publicly

“My daughters live in Russia and studied only in Russia, I am proud of them,” Putin was quoted as saying by the outlet. “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,” he added.

As per BBC, both women were sanctioned by the US in 2022.

“We believe that many of Putin’s assets are hidden with family members, and that’s why we’re targeting them,” a US official told the outlet.

Ivan and Vladimir Jr

Putin is alsothought to have two sons with Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva – known as the “uncrowned queen of Russia.”

Kabaeva and Putin are thought to have begun their affair in 2008, as per Economic Times.

Putin, at the time, would have still been married to Lyudmila.

According to Forbes, the children Ivan and Vladimir Jr, are nine and five respectively.

They are said to live in a heavily-guarded house near Lake Valdai north-west of Moscow.

Forbes quoted the Russian investigative group The Dossier Centre as providing the information.

Ivan is thought to have been born in a maternity clinic in Lugano, Switzerland.

Vladimir Jr was born in Moscow in 2019.

The Russian-born gynaecologist who delivered the boys died in 2003 under mysterious circumstances.

The Dossier Centre quoted unnamed sources as saying the children lived a life of luxury outside the public eye.

“The boys live a solitary existence away from the spotlight and seldom see their parents,” the report stated.

They are kept safe by the Kremlin’s Federal Protective Service and have a squad of nannies, governesses, and personal trainers.

They have never been to school. Instead, they are given private tutoring.

“They live a life of luxury isolated from the world,” with minimal opportunities for social interaction, as per the report.

Putin has long denied claims of an affair with Kabaeva.

With inputs from agencies

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