In order to help Russia avoid the effects of Western sanctions over her father’s conflict in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s daughter has been parachuted in.
The 35-year-old Katerina Tikhonova has been appointed co-chair of a powerful committee overseeing import substitution.
The high-kicking “rock’n’roll” dancer has long been predicted to play a significant political role amid concerns of Putin’s failing health; this could be the first indication of her rising stardom.
Her appointment is with the influential, staunchly pro-Kremlin Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), which speaks for significant public and private corporations.
Sanctions imposed in response to the invasion of Ukraine have severely hurt many.
Tikhonova’s new position comes at a time when Putin has legalized “parallel imports,” which violate sanctions, to ensure a flow of prohibited Western goods entering Russia through third nations and unauthorized channels.
When announcing that she will co-chair the Coordinating Council on Import Substitution and Technological Independence, which aims to rapidly reduce Russian dependence on Western products and expertise, thereby mitigating the impact of sanctions, the union avoided mentioning that she is Putin’s daughter.
She is presently the understated National Intellectual Development Foundation’s director general.
Tikhonova, who recently underwent pricey cosmetic procedures in Munich, is Putin’s second child with his ex-wife, former first lady Lyudmila.
Separately, there have been rumours that she could be elected to parliament and play a significant role with United Russia, the primary political party that supports Putin, despite concerns that his health issues will make it impossible for him to hold onto power for a long time.
Igor Zelensky, 52, the former director of the Bavarian State Ballet, was found to be Tikonova’s new partner.
It was discovered in May that Tikonova made frequent travels to Munich to be with him.
The legendary Russian ballet dancer was fired for refusing to condemn Putin’s brutal conflict in Ukraine.
She previously wed 40-year-old billionaire Kirill Shamalov, whose father is a close friend of Vladimir Putin.
Tikhonova, a former deputy director of the Institute for Mathematical Research of Complex Systems at Moscow State University, was born in Germany when her father was a KGB operative.
Prior to becoming renowned as Putin’s daughter, she competed in international “rock’n’roll” dancing competitions.
Leading researcher at the National Medical Research Centre for Endocrinology of the Russian Ministry of Health is her older sister, Dr. Maria Vorontsova.
She shares a half-sister with 19-year-old Luiza Rozova, a rich cleaner and the daughter of 45-year-old Svetlana Krivonogikh, Putin’s ex-lover.
With an estimated financial and real estate fortune of £74 million, Krivonogikh, one of the richest women in the nation, is currently a co-owner of a significant Russian bank.
Putin doesn’t ever publicly name his daughters.
The Telegram channel General SVR, which asserts that Putin has major ailments such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and a schizoaffective disorder, has highlighted speculation over Tikhonova’s potential for a prominent future political position, possibly even as the head of United Russia.
According to RBC, Tikhonova’s new council will coordinate efforts to replace sanctioned foreign equipment with Russian-made alternatives quickly.
She will lead the development of digital services that encourage import substitution and provide ideas for state policy in this area.
Alexander Shokhin, the president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, is her co-chairman and a former deputy prime minister.