Targeting Putin’s daughters – EU wants to put Maria and Katerina on the sanctions list
New sanctions against Russia – Putin’s daughters are also on the list
After the killing of hundreds of civilians in Ukraine and the global outrage over shocking war atrocities, the West is increasing the pressure on Russia. New sanctions have been imposed, which also target the daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Not much is known about the daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Except that he’s very proud of them and they’re both college graduates. Now Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova are in the spotlight worldwide, as the EU wants to put them on its sanctions list.
Ztwo academics who speak several European languages and lived in Dresden for a few years as children. Not much more is known about the two daughters of Russia’s head of state Vladimir Putin, because the Kremlin boss largely hides his private life from the public. But now Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova are in the spotlight worldwide because the EU wants to put them on its sanctions list because of Putin’s Ukraine war.
From the point of view of the USA, too, the Putin subsidiaries are suitable sanction targets. The White House announced punitive measures against the two sisters on Wednesday. After all, Putin hides his fortune “with his family members,” said a high-ranking government official in Washington.
According to the US Treasury Department, Tikhonova is a tech manager who supports the Russian defense industry. The older sister, Vorontsova, heads a gene research program funded by the Russian state and “personally supervised by Putin.”
According to the official Putin biography on the Kremlin website, his daughter Maria was born in 1985, just before the family moved to Dresden, where Putin worked as a KGB agent. According to Putin’s official curriculum vitae, shortly after moving to the GDR in 1986, his second daughter Katerina was born in Dresden. The mother of the two sisters is Ludmila Putina, from whom the head of state divorced in 2013.
The only photo the Kremlin has released of the Putin daughters shows them as little girls with blonde hair tied in pigtails. The few public statements that Putin has made about his daughters over the decades indicate that they received higher education in Russia, speak several European languages and continue to live in Russia.
According to some Russian media, Maria Vorontsova is an endocrinologist who works at a medical research center focused on research into cancer therapies and has ties to the Russian state. According to some reports, Vorontsova is a co-owner of the research institute.
Putin: “I’m proud of you”
Tikhonova is reportedly a mathematician who heads a science and technology foundation that has ties to the country’s largest state university. It is said to be an institute for artificial intelligence at the Moscow State University.
In addition, according to Russian media, Tikhonova has already participated in several international competitions as a professional acrobatic rock and roll dancer. Videos from the tournaments show Tikhonova in glittering costumes. She lets her partner catapult her into the air and catches her again after spectacular spins.
Katerina Tikhonova at one of her professional acrobatic rock ‘n’ roll competitions
Source: REUTERS
A few years ago, at a press conference, Putin said of his daughters that he was “proud of them”. “They continue to study and work,” he said, adding that his daughters are “not involved in any business affairs” and are not “active in politics.”
In 2020, Putin made it clear in an interview that he did not want to comment on his family because of “security problems”. At the same time, however, he let the public know that he was a grandfather. However, the Kremlin boss did not name the number of his grandchildren. “I have grandchildren, I’m happy,” he said. “You are very good, so nice. I like spending time with them.”
At a press conference in 2019, Putin was asked directly about his daughters’ growing influence and their connections to state institutions. However, the Russian President refused to address the question. He did not even say that Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova were his daughters, but simply spoke of “women”. However, this does not protect them from the sanctions of the West.
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