'Russian Kim Joo-ae'... Putin's Two Daughters, Are They Starting Succession Work?

Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, whose two daughters have rarely appeared in public and remained shrouded in mystery, took the stage as speakers at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

On the 8th (local time), foreign media including the US CNN and AFP reported that Maria Vorontsova (39) and Katerina Tikhonova (37), known to be Putin's daughters, gave consecutive speeches at SPIEF held from the 5th to the 8th. SPIEF is an event often referred to as the Russian version of the Davos Forum.

On the 7th (local time), Maria Vorontsova, presumed to be the eldest daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was seen participating in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
[Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

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The younger daughter, Tikhonova, delivered a video lecture on June 6 about ensuring technological sovereignty in the military-industrial complex. She is said to work in fields related to the Russian military and was introduced as the head of the Russian National Intellectual Development Foundation (NIDF) on the forum’s speaker list. In her video lecture, Tikhonova stated, "National sovereignty has been one of the important topics in recent years and is the foundation of Russia's security," and mentioned what the defense sector must do to enhance technological sovereignty, AFP reported. The elder daughter, Vorontsova, a pediatric endocrinology expert, represented the Russian Science Promotion Association and spoke on June 7 about innovations in biotechnology and related topics.

They are known to be daughters of President Putin and his former wife Lyudmila. Putin married Lyudmila, a former flight attendant, in 1983 and had two daughters, but the couple divorced in 2013 after 30 years of marriage. President Putin has said that his daughters work in the fields of science and education and that he has grandchildren, but he has never publicly disclosed their names. He also has not publicly confirmed that the two are his biological daughters.

On the 6th (local time), Katerina Tikhonova, presumed to be the youngest daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, delivered a video speech at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
[Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

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Foreign media analyzed that these two have taken increasingly public roles in recent years through forums and industry events, suggesting this is related to the process of power succession. Although they have attended SPIEF before, this is the first time both appeared as speakers. In the past, only Tikhonova had spoken at SPIEF.

Since 2022, following the Russia-Ukraine war, they have been subject to sanctions by the US and the UK. Experts believe that some of President Putin’s wealth is hidden under the names of his family members. The Anti-Corruption Foundation of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, who died in prison in February, claimed in January that Vorontsova earned over $10 million (about 1.4 billion KRW) as an employee of a medical company from 2019 to 2022. Vorontsova is reported to be married to a Dutch businessman and lives in a luxury apartment worth $3.3 million (about 460 million KRW) in the Netherlands.

Tikhonova married Russian oligarch Kirill Shamalov and purchased an eight-bedroom villa in Biarritz, France, for several million dollars but later divorced. It is also reported, though not officially confirmed, that Tikhonova once performed as an acrobatic rock and roll dancer.

Regarding their official public appearances, Maria Snegovaya, a senior researcher at the US Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), interpreted this as "a gradual transfer of power to successors taking place." The British daily The Guardian also viewed their increasingly prominent public roles as Putin’s intention to consolidate long-term power.

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