President of Russia Vladimir Putin is currently one of the most carefully studied men in the world among his country invasion of Ukraine.
The strongman has been the focus of world media attention since Russian troops crossed the border late last month and has been making headlines for years as the ruler of the world’s largest country and a key figure in international politics.
But despite his penchant for long-winded interviews, press conferences and TV appearances, the 69-year-old has always ruthlessly concealed information about his family life, in particular, about his children.
Putin has never publicly acknowledged having children, although it is common knowledge that he and his ex-wife have two daughters.
But many speculate that the former KGB chief also has a child with a woman who was once called “the most flexible woman in Russia,” while others say he fathered another child with a former cleaning lady turned multimillionaire and co-owner Russian company. bank.
Earlier, Putin said: “I have a personal life in which I do not allow interference. He needs to be respected.”
He deplored “those who, with their snotty noses and erotic fantasies, climb into someone else’s life.”
With that in mind, here’s what we know about Putin’s children.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is now one of the most closely watched people in the world for his country’s invasion of Ukraine, but he has always kept his family life ruthlessly hidden.
Putin has two children with his ex-wife Lyudmila Putina, born Lyudmila Shkrebneva, whom he met in the early 1980s at what was then Leningrad State University. The couple married on July 28, 1983, and their first daughter Maria was born in April 1985.
Groom Vladimir Putin and his bride Lyudmila Shkrebneva on their wedding day, 1983.
Maria Faassen
At 36, Maria Faassen is Putin’s first child and the eldest daughter of two with his ex-wife Lyudmila Putina, whom he separated from in 2013 after 30 years of marriage.
Putina, born Lyudmila Shkrebneva, met Putin in the early 1980s when they were both students at Leningrad State University.
The couple married on July 28, 1983, and Maria was born in April 1985.
Maria, born Maria Vladimirovna Putina, also known as Maria Vorontsova, is named after Putin’s mother, Maria Ivanovna Shelomova, and seemed destined to be a scientist from the start.
At 36, Maria Faassen is Putin’s first child and the eldest daughter of two with his ex-wife Lyudmila Putina, whom he separated from in 2013 after 30 years of marriage.
After graduating, Maria (center) entered a medical school in Moscow and has since become a pediatric endocrinologist and one of Russia’s leading specialists in dwarfism. She recently appeared on Russian state television to discuss her genetic testing research and efforts to fight rare genetic diseases in children.
She showed great aptitude for science at school as a young child in East Germany and as a teenager in Moscow, before continuing to study biology at St. Petersburg State University.
After completing her studies, she entered a medical school in Moscow and has since become a pediatric endocrinologist and one of Russia’s leading specialists in dwarfism.
She recently appeared on Russian state television to discuss her genetic testing research and efforts to fight rare genetic diseases in children.
She is married to Dutch businessman Jorrit Faassen, with whom she has a child together, making the President of Russia a grandfather.
Teenage Mary is pictured here with friends in an undated photograph.
Katerina Tikhonova
Katerina Tikhonova, born Ekaterina Vladimirovna Putina, is the second child of the President of Russia and the younger sister of Maria.
Katerina abandoned Putin’s surname, taking instead the patronymic of her maternal grandmother, Ekaterina Tikhonovna Shkrebneva.
She was born in August 1986 and attended the same schools in East Germany and Moscow as her sister, but she had a completely different set of interests.
Although the 35-year-old is now director of the Institute for Mathematical Research of Complex Systems at Moscow State University and also studied at St. Petersburg State University, Katerina is perhaps best known for her success as a rock and roll dancer.
Katerina Tikhonova, born Ekaterina Vladimirovna Putina, is the second child of the President of Russia and the younger sister of Maria.
Although the 35-year-old is now the director of the Institute for Mathematical Research of Complex Systems at Moscow State University, and also studied at St. Petersburg State University, Katerina is perhaps best known for her success as a rock and roll dancer.
Katerina became a member of the Russian Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Mass Sports back in 2019, and also played a key role in the development of acrobatic rock and roll, which has long been a niche discipline.
For years, Putin’s second daughter served as vice president of expansion and marketing for the World Rock and Roll Confederation (WWRC), the organization that organizes rock and roll competitions around the world.
Katerina was previously married to Kirill Shamalov, co-owner of the Russian petrochemical company SIBUR Holding, son of the co-owner of one of the largest banks in Russia.
The couple divorced in 2018 when it was revealed that their combined assets were around $2 billion.
Louisa Rozova
Luiza Rozova, 18, has never been officially recognized as Russia’s president, but many believe she is Putin’s third child.
Louise is the daughter of 45-year-old Svetlana Krivonogikh, who became a multimillionaire, now co-owner of a large Russian bank and one of the richest women in the country.
The Russian leader is believed to have had an affair with the Krivonogi, and Rozova herself admitted to Russian GQ that she “probably looks like” a young Putin.
Krivonogikh has never commented on claims that her daughter was born to the Kremlin dictator.
Rozova, who had 84,000 followers on Instagram, stopped posting publicly five months ago when suspicions of a Russian troop buildup on the border with Ukraine first surfaced, raising suspicion that Putin had gagged her, though her account remained visible until last week.
Now the message in Russian: “User not found”.
Luiza Rozova, 18, has never been officially recognized as Russia’s president, but many believe she is Putin’s third child.
Rozova, who had 84,000 followers on Instagram, stopped posting five months ago when suspicions of a Russian troop buildup on the border with Ukraine first surfaced, raising suspicion that Putin had gagged her, though her account remained visible until last week.
Louise is the daughter of 45-year-old Svetlana Krivonogikh, who became a multimillionaire, now co-owner of a large Russian bank and one of the richest women in the country. It is believed that Putin had an affair with the Krivonogi, and Rozova herself admitted that she has some resemblance to the Russian leader.
However, some believe that Rozova is not Putin’s youngest child.
The Russian president has been embroiled in controversy for years over his alleged relationship with Alina Kabaeva, a Russian Olympic gymnast who was once called “Russia’s most flexible woman.”
Kabaeva is one of the most titled gymnasts in the history of rhythmic gymnastics, the owner of 2 Olympic medals, 14 World Championship medals and 25 European Championship medals.
Many Russians saw her as the reason for the breakdown of Putin’s marriage to Lyudmila, the mother of the president’s first two daughters.
Alina has long been associated with Putin—they have been photographed together at countless events, and Kabaeva once spoke of a mysterious man whom she says she “loves very much.”
The gymnast was pictured pregnant in 2015, sparking speculation that she was now carrying Putin’s baby.
The Russian president has been embroiled in controversy for years over his alleged relationship with Alina Kabaeva, a Russian Olympic gymnast who was once called “Russia’s most flexible woman” (pictured in 1999).
Kabaeva is one of the most titled gymnasts in the history of rhythmic gymnastics, the owner of 2 Olympic medals, 14 World Championship medals and 25 European Championship medals. Many Russians saw her as the reason for the collapse of Putin’s marriage to Lyudmila, the mother of the president’s first two daughters.
A pregnant Kabaeva was pictured in 2015, sparking rumors that she was about to give birth to Putin’s child.