Vladimir Putin’s daughter Katerina Tikhonova has no political experience, but is believed to be very close to the Russian president – and cronies want her as the next president
Vladimir Putin is coming under pressure to hand over his Kremlin throne to his second daughter, according to a report today.
Close cronies say the Russian leader should appoint former high-kicking rock’n’roll dancer, Katerina Tikhonova, 38, as his successor. A royal-style succession has been voiced by Putin’s friend Mikhail Kovalchuk, a physicist and head of the Kurchatov Institute, Russia’s leading nuclear institute, according to Telegram channel VChK-OGPU, which has links to the Russian secret services.
The move is said to be backed by his brother Yury Kovalchuk, 73, who is referred to as Putin’s “banker”, an oligarch seen as controlling the dictator’s purported vast secret fortune. Putin recently admitted he is constantly contemplating who to crown as his heir apparent and successor.
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“I always think about that,” he confessed earlier this month. Tikhonova – a powerful university research boss – has no political experience, but is believed to be very close to Putin. The channel said that its sources revealed that “Mikhail Kovalchuk – with the full support of his brother Yury, who has enormous influence on Putin – has recently been actively promoting his plan for a ‘change of power’ in the Russian Federation.”
According to the plan, “the new president of Russia should be Katerina Tikhonova, Vladimir Putin’s daughter,” the channel has claimed, adding that “interlocutors say that Kovalchuk is now actively convincing both Putin and Tikhonova that this plan is the only correct one.” The channel said that Putin, who will turn 73 this year, intends to “raise the issue of a new president” in 2026.
The channel also claimed that “Kovalchuk insists that Tikhonova should become the successor, while running as an independent candidate.” Tikhonova, head of the Innopraktika Institute in Moscow, has started making conference and TV appearances, but not on a large scale, and until now Putin has insisted his children – he is believed to have five – are not public figures.
She is seen as an unofficial integrator of all high-tech companies in Russia and plays a role in sanctions-busting on behalf of her father’s regime. Putin has spoken little on his successor and is seen as having blocked the advancement of some candidates during his quarter of a century in power.
Many believe he will never give up power voluntarily and end up ruling for life, yet if he moved on, it could help to end the debilitating war against Ukraine. But earlier this month he said: “When I think about this – and I think about it all the time – of course I think that a person should emerge, or better yet several people, so the people have a choice. Someone who could earn that trust from the citizens of the country.”
He was asked: “But you’re constantly observing and assessing the potential of each person, right?” Putin replied. “Yes. That’s right.” His former speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov has highlighted Tikonova’s rising profile.
“The circle around the president’s daughter, Katerina Tikhonova has every chance, given time, to seize power in the country,” he said. “It’s not the worst-case scenario, though of course things could shift. They are not war enthusiasts, although it’s clear they don’t openly criticise it.
“[Their] idea is that Russia should advance its interests through soft power rather than by waging wars.” Her appointment could see Putin become a paramount leader, remaining mostly in the background.
Tikhonova is the sister of Maria Vorontsova, 40, Putin’s other daughter from his former marriage to ex-first lady Lyudmila, 67, who has remarried. Vorontsova is a leading researcher at the National Medical Research Center for Endocrinology of the Ministry of Health of Russia, and an expert on dwarfism.
They have a half-sister Luiza, 22, born to Putin’s former mistress, a cleaner turned multimillionaire with a net worth of £75 million, named Svetlana Krivonogikh, 50, who holds shares in a top bank and owns a prominent St Petersburg striptease club. Luiza has lived in the West during Putin’s war against Ukraine. Luiza has lived in the West during Putin’s war against Ukraine.
They also have two half brothers – Ivan, ten, and Vladimir junior, six, born to current Putin secret lover Alina Kabaeva, 42, an Olympic Gold medal winning rhythmic gymnast. Earlier there was speculation that Putin might appoint ex-bodyguard Alexei Dyumin, 51, now a top Kremlin aide, who once saved the dictator from a raging brown bear, or Dmitry Patrushev, 47, deputy premier and son of ex-FSB chief and security council secretary, Nikolai Patrushev, now also a close advisor.
Katerina is married to ballet dancer and artistic director, Igor Zelensky, 55, previously head of the Bavarian State Ballet. At the time, she made regular clandestine trips by private jet to Munich accompanied by state bodyguards.
She is known to enjoy “Vampire Facelift”, a beauty remedy liked by Kim Kardashian. Her blood was removed, then processed and and injected back under the skin in a treatment costing £4,310 per session.
She also underwent Botox procedures and had hyaluronic acid injections to treat frown lines on her forehead and laugh lines on her mouth, say reports. Earlier she was wed to Russia’s youngest billionaire Kirill Shamalov, now 43, son of a close Putin crony.