Putin's Second Daughter May Take Lead in Responding to Western Sanctions Measures

Ticonova Appointed Co-Chair of Import Substitution Committee of Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP)

Katerina Tikonova [Photo by Bloomberg]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Katerina Tikhonova, the second daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is expected to take a leading role in responding to Western sanctions against Russia.

Bloomberg, citing Russia's RBC newspaper on the 13th (local time), reported that Tikhonova has taken on a new position at the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), the most powerful business organization in Russia.

RBC reported that Tikhonova was appointed co-chair of the committee organizing import substitution activities at the RSPP. She is tasked with securing alternatives to imported goods, which have become difficult to obtain due to Western sanctions. RBC released a copy of the official document confirming Tikhonova's appointment and added that the RSPP confirmed it.

However, a spokesperson for the Russian National Intellectual Development Foundation (NIDF), where Tikhonova currently serves as a representative, told RBC that Tikhonova has not yet agreed to take on the new position at the RSPP.

Bloomberg said it contacted both the RSPP and NIDF for fact-checking but did not receive any response.

Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, President Putin has emphasized the need to replace some goods and services with domestically produced alternatives due to supply disruptions caused by Western sanctions. After the invasion of Ukraine in February, Western companies have successively withdrawn from the Russian market, worsening Russia's production disruptions and shortages of goods.

Bloomberg explained that despite calls to increase domestic production, there has been little practical progress in replacing imports with Russian-made products. Russia still heavily depends on imports, and it is no longer able to freely secure these imported goods.

Tikhonova is Putin's second daughter with his former wife Lyudmila Ocheretnaya. Putin married Lyudmila, a flight attendant for the Russian state airline Aeroflot, in 1983 and divorced in 2013. Their first daughter is named Mariya Vorontsova. Both daughters are currently on the sanctions lists of the United States and the European Union (EU).

In addition to the two daughters with Lyudmila, President Putin reportedly has four minor children with Alina Kabaeva, an Olympic rhythmic gymnastics gold medalist, and a daughter named Elizaveta with Svetlana Krivonogikh, a former cleaner with whom he had an extramarital relationship.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.