Who Is Maria Vorontsova? Vladimir Putin's Eldest Daughter Faces US Sanctions

Putin has refused to reveal the identities of his children, but the Treasury Department has named Maria Vladimirovna Vorontsova and Katerina Vladimirovna Tikhonova as the daughters sanctioned. One is a paediatric doctor, the other a former competitive dancer turned IT executive. When it comes to his family, Putin is extremely private, and many details concerning his children have been limited and wrapped in secrecy. Here's what we know about Maria Vladimirovna Vorontsova, his eldest daughter.

Who is Maria Vorontsova?

- Vorontsova was born in the year 1985 in Russian SFSR city of Leningrad, which is now Saint Petersburg, Russia. She is Vladimir Putin's and Lyudmila Putina's eldest daughter. After three decades of marriage, the couple divorced.

- She attended a German school in Dresden, East Germany, where her family lived.

- She and her sister Katerina were later sent to Germany by their father, who feared for their safety during violent gang wars involving the Tambov Gang as it took control of Saint Petersburg's energy trade. Reportedly, Matthias Warnig, a former Stasi officer (Ministry for State Security) who had worked with their father in Dresden as part of a KGB cell and established the Dresdner Bank branch in Saint Petersburg, was their legal guardian.

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- She then attended the German School Moscow, a school closely affiliated with the German Embassy in Moscow for children of diplomats, after her family relocated to Moscow. She then received her diploma degree.

-Maria Vorontsova earned her bachelor's degree in biology from Saint Petersburg State University and her medical degree from Moscow State University in 2011.

- According to reports, she was a PhD candidate at the Endocrinology Research Centre in Moscow.

- Vorontsova co-authored five studies between 2013 and 2015, including "The Status of the Blood Antioxidant System in Patients with Active Acromegaly." She also co-authored a book regarding idiopathic childhood stunting in 2015.

- Putin is said to have sought Vorontsova's advice on genetic engineering, particularly the use of CRISPR to make genetically modified newborns.

- She is said to have economic interests in addition to her medical research. According to BBC Russia, Vorontsova is a co-owner of a company that is "engaged in the implementation of the largest private investment initiative in Russian healthcare."

- Vorontsova is married to Jorrit Faassen, a Dutch businessman.