Russian President Vladimir Putin, since joining the leadership in 1999, has presented himself as a tough guy with an iron face.
From the Chechen war, personally piloted fighter jets to quell the terrorist insurgency; to launch a special military operation against Ukraine, which was attacked by Western countries and suffered more than 10,000 sanctions;
A few days ago, when the "cook" Prigozhin mutinied and occupied the military base in the town of Voronezh, only a few hundred kilometers from Moscow, Putin never bowed his head.
As Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko described it: "We all know that Putin will never compromise." ”
Even if he is as strong as Putin, there is a soft and vulnerable side, and this side, he will only show in his daughters.
According to public information, Putin has two daughters, the eldest daughter is named Maria Vorontsova, and the youngest daughter is named Katerina Tikhonova. The two are about the same age and were born to Putin and his ex-wife Lyudmila.
Putin is secretive about his private life because he has been in politics for many years and has made countless enemies, and he does not want politics to involve his family.
At the same time, Putin, a former member of the KGB, also understands the dangers of being a family member of the leader.
Because of this, Putin covered the lives of his daughters with his broad arms, allowing them to grow up freely like ordinary people.
(1) Unveiling the mystery of Putin's money
For years, there have been attempts to spy on the life path of Putin's daughter.
Whenever Putin is asked about the matter, he either avoids answering or only briefly reveals.
Putin once said: "The political culture of the West means that family members must be the center of public attention, and I think we are in a situation that does not lend itself to this kind of drama." ”
In order to avoid the outside world discussion of his daughter, Putin has changed the names of his two daughters many times, and until 2017, Putin still insisted that his daughter use a pseudonym.
At a press conference at the 2015 marathon, Putin said: "My daughters live in Russia and study only in Russia, and I am proud of them. They speak three foreign languages fluently. I never discuss my family with anyone. ”
He added: "Everyone has the right to determine their own destiny, they live their lives and they live with dignity. ”
In short, Putin has never revealed the real names of his two daughters to the outside world.
Later, when the Kremlin held a press conference, someone asked the spokesperson: "Do you know the identity of Maria Vorontsova?" Is she Putin's daughter? ”
"I don't know who she is. It's not my job. I deal with the president, not his children. ”
The spokesman's answer was so crisp and powerful that Western media described it as "Moscow protects Putin's private life like a state secret." ”
In fact, not only Western journalists, but also many Russians do not fully know what Putin's two daughters look like, nor do they know that Putin divorced Lyudmila in 2013 and where Putin now lives after the divorce.
Perhaps because the daughters have grown up and can stand alone, perhaps for other reasons, Putin has no longer covered his private life so tightly in recent years.
Putin, who has taken the initiative to talk about parting ways with Lyudmila, said: "It was a joint decision. We hardly met, we each had our own lives. ”
Lyudmila also said: "Putin is completely addicted to work. ”
As for Putin's daughter, she is also making more and more public appearances in front of the camera.
Putin's eldest daughter, Maria Vorontsova, has blonde hair and blue eyes, delicate facial features, fair skin, and deep eyes, perfectly inheriting the advantages of her parents' appearance.
This "stunner in the world" is even slightly better than Ivanka, the daughter of former US President Trump, in appearance, which can be described as full of exotic heavenly fragrance.
Maria studied biology at St. Petersburg University and then medicine at Moscow State University, graduating with honors and learning three European languages.
Today, Maria's first identity was as a medical scholar, specializing in the endocrine system.
Maria has written many books on pediatric endocrinology and is knowledgeable in treating childhood stunting.
Maria is also one of the leading experts on Russian dwarfism.
Maria is actively involved in children's health care and is listed as a researcher at the National Center for Endocrinology for her outstanding contributions.
Maria's second role is a businessman, and she used her expertise to start a large multinational healthcare company called Nomeco with a friend and served as CEO.
The Leningrad-based company is Russia's largest privately funded cancer research center.
It covers an area of nearly 40 hectares and has its own cancer treatment center, multidisciplinary clinic, rehabilitation and sports medicine center, proton therapy center, and receives countless patients every year.
The company's target customers are rich and emiquitous from Europe and the Persian Gulf countries.
According to external assessments, the market value of Nomeco Group is about $4.5 billion, and Maria, who holds absolute equity, is a proper rich woman.
Last year, Maria was also interviewed by Russian state television "Channel 24", her first appearance in front of Russian media.
Although Maria did not talk about the identity of her president's daughter, the audience knew that this was the mysterious and beautiful princess.
After Maria was photogenic, it instantly ignited the blood of the people, and netizens sighed: "What a rare stunner in the world!" ”；“ It is not difficult to understand that Putin wants to hide his daughter for 30 years. ”
However, after Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine, the life of the Maria Medical Center did not seem to be good.
Western countries, led by the United States, have launched large-scale sanctions against Russia, so that few foreign dignitaries visit.
Of course, 36-year-old Maria has already achieved financial freedom through her own efforts, and this medical center is only one part of her grand business plan.
Even if the medical center is frustrated, it does not prevent Maria from traveling and shopping.
But some of Maria and her sister Katerina's assets were frozen.
The United States said: "Because they are Putin's adult children, and Putin's property and earnings have been blocked."
Asked why the United States was targeting Putin's daughters, a senior Biden administration official said the United States believed they might have some of their father's assets.
"We have reason to believe that Putin and many of his cronies and oligarchs hid their wealth, hid their assets, and their family members put their assets and wealth in the financial system of the United States, as well as elsewhere in the globe," he said. ”
This passage vividly shows the unique arrogance of Americans.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to Western sanctions against Putin's family: "All in all, sanctions that have not been approved by the UN Security Council are bad, and more importantly, they are useless." (Western) sanctions against family relatives, acquaintances and journalists are stupid. This decision is ridiculous! ”。
(2) The daughter of the unfortunate president
In 2013, Russian Maria married with businessman Fassen at the Private Museum of Forlinden in Wassenar, the Netherlands.
At the wedding banquet, most of them were relatives and friends of the groom Fasson, and everyone was full of curiosity about the bride Maria.
Maria's maiden family came very little, only a few burly men.
At the wedding, Fasson and the guests pushed glasses and changed glasses, and Maria followed behind him with a smile on her face.
Everyone only knows that Maria is Russian, but the true identity of her parents is not known.
In addition to the joy, Maria also sang a Russian ballad, and everyone in the audience danced to her lark-like voice.
According to Fasson's cousin Casper, the second time he saw his sister-in-law Maria was at his aunt's birthday party.
Maria seemed quiet as guests gathered around the buffet table to choose Indonesian food. She wore a beige dress, looked elegant, and stood perfectly like a dancer. She spoke to everyone, including her husband, in fluent English and barely Dutch. Casper said.
Fasson works at Gazprom Investment and Gazprom Construction and Transmission, so he and Maria live in Moscow most of the time, so Casper rarely sees them.
Although Fassen had always wanted to hide his wife's identity, the media smelled the wind and asked him if Maria was Putin's daughter.
Fassen replied: "All I can say is that I married a Russian woman and had children. ”
He did not provide further details or confirm that he was Putin's son-in-law.
Even for a long time, Fasson, Maria, and Putin never publicly admitted that Maria was Putin's biological daughter, but the disaster still affected Maria.
In 2014, Russians who supported the division of eastern Ukraine shot down a Malaysia Airlines flight from Amsterdam over Ukraine, killing 298 people, nearly 200 of them Dutch.
This matter made a lot of noise in the Netherlands, not only the Dutch people demanded to be expelled from Maria, but even some Dutch mayors also wrote a joint letter to let Maria leave.
Recently, some Dutch have invaded the land owned by Maria and Fassen and planted Ukrainian flags on the lawn, hoping that Maria will intercede with her father, Putin, to end the special military operation in Ukraine.
The disturbance did not affect Maria's normal life, and soon after the marriage, Maria bore Farson a child.
Putin was very happy about this and also spoke about it in a conference call in 2017.
He said: "Regarding my grandson, one is already in kindergarten. Please understand, I don't want them to grow like some kind of prince. I want them to grow like normal people. ”
However, news broke that Maria had parted ways with Fassen.
(3) The "second princess" with both talents and looks
Compared with the eldest daughter Maria, it is clear that Katerina Tikhonova, the second daughter of Putin's second daughter, has a higher appearance rate.
Tykhonova was born in August 1986 and attended the same school as her sister Vorontsova in East Germany and Moscow, and received a master's degree in physics and mathematics from St. Petersburg State University and Moscow State University.
After graduation, Tikhonova stayed on as a teacher and gradually became deputy director of the Institute of Mathematics of Complex Systems at Moscow State University.
Tikhonova has a wide range of interests, especially acrobatic rock dance, a performance sport that combines stunts and dance.
In acrobatic rock dance, Tikhonova achieved great results, finishing fifth at the World Championships in Switzerland in 2013 and second at the Russian Championships the following year.
In addition, Tikhonova worked in development and marketing at the World Rock League, hosting dance competitions around the world.
In December 2019, Tikhonova also served as a member of the Russian Sports Culture and Mass Sports Development Committee, playing an important role in the promotion of acrobatic rock dance.
Russian media reported that acrobatic rock dance became popular from 2016 to 2019.
In the Moscow region, Tikhonova's alma mater spent 2 billion rubles to build an acrobatic rock dance center.
Tikhonova got married, like her sister, in 2013. Tikhonova's husband, Shamalov, was a close friend of Putin and held a large stake in the Bank of Russia.
Shortly after his marriage, Shamalov set out to buy a 17 percent stake in Sibur, Russia's largest petrochemical company, making him one of the youngest billionaires.
The couple's stake in the company has soared to celebrate Shamalov's purchase of a £4 million luxury beach house in Biarritz, France.
Because of Tikhonova's special status, this villa was broken into by people who support Ukraine shortly after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
I don't know if it was a personality incompatibility or other reasons, Tikhonova chose to divorce after 5 years of marriage to Shavalov.
Of course, this does not hinder Tikhonova's normal life.
As recently as 2020, Tikhonova was entrusted with the task of building a $1.7 billion Institute for Artificial Intelligence Problems and Intellectual Systems due to her outstanding performance.
After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, her sister Maria and her sister Tikhonova were both frozen by Western countries and restricted from entering the country.
"We believe that many of Putin's assets are hidden in family members, and that's why we target them," the White House said. ”
The U.S. claims that Maria "leads state-sponsored projects," while Tykhonova is supporting the Russian government and defense industry.
He added that the project received billions of dollars from the Kremlin for various research, which was personally overseen by Putin.
As the saying goes, "there is no excuse for wanting to add to the crime", the United States uses only one "I believe" to negate all the efforts of the Mary sisters, and it is absurd to attribute their achievements to their father who became president.
In such a grim situation, the sisters spoke out in unison to support their father Putin.
Pity the hearts of parents in the world, Putin thinks about the safety of his daughters, tries his best not to let them show up, and allows them to maintain a normal life.