Who Is Katerina Tikhonova? US Sanctions Against Vladimir Putin’s Daughter

The latest sanctions announced by the United States against Russia for launching the Ukraine invasion also include two women—Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova—who are believed to be daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin. These sanctions are aimed at pressurize Russia’s economy and its elite. The White House in their statement had said, “These individuals have enriched themselves at the expense of the Russian people. Some of them are responsible for providing the support necessary to underpin Putin's war on Ukraine.”

The two women are believed to be the children of Putin and his ex-wife Lyudmila Shkrebneva, a former flight attendant. The two got divorced in 2013. However, the Kremlin on April 7, that the sanctions imposed against Putin's adult daughters were bewildering and described it as a part of a broader frenzy against Russia.

“We consider these sanctions in themselves to be the extension of an absolutely rabid position on the imposition of restrictions," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He added, "In any case, the ongoing line on imposing restrictions against family members speaks for itself."

Who Is Katerina Tikhonova?

Katerina or Yekaterina Vladimirovna Putina is reportedly Russian President Vladimir Putin’s younger daughter who is a scientist, manager and former acrobatic dancer. Tikhonova heads the Innopraktika Company which unites two initiatives of Moscow State University—the National Intellectual Development Foundation (NIDF) and the National Intellectual Reserve Centre (NIRC).

Tikhonova is also Deputy Director of the Institute for Mathematical Research of Complex Systems at Moscow State University.

Suggested Reading: Who Is Maria Vorontsova? Vladimir Putin’s Eldest Daughter Faces US Sanctions

Reportedly, Putin’s younger daughter is believed to be interested in Southeast Asian culture, especially Chinese studies. She has studied Japanese history and majored in Asian studies under the Dean of Saint Petersburg State University, Yevgeny Zelenev. She also has Masters's in Physics and Mathematics.

Tikhonova was appointed as head of a new artificial intelligence institute at Moscow State University in February 2020.

Since the mid-2010s, Tikhonova was into acrobatic rock’n’roll, a non-Olympic sport and has participated in World Championship since 2013 and has been in the top five contenders. She, reportedly, also held the position of Vice President for Expansion and Marketing in the World Federation.

Reportedly, a rock’n’roll centre was built in a sports school Katerina studied. In 2015, the news agency Reuters had disclosed that a participant at a World Rock'n'Roll event was in fact Putin's daughter, who was Katerina Tikhonova.

Tikhonova, in December 2019, became a member of the Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Mass Sports under the Government of the Russian Federation.

Allegedly, Tikhonova married Kirill Shamalov in 2013 and the couple reportedly divorced in 2018. Shamalov is Vice-president of Sibur Holding, a Russian gas processing and petrochemicals company headquartered in Moscow.