They will pay for the war decided by their father. Vladimir Putin’s two daughters, Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, are among the 200 new people sanctioned by the European Union, whose list must be approved on Thursday, in parallel with the vote on new sanctions against Russia, including the arrest purchases of Russian coal. Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova were also sanctioned in the United States where their assets were frozen.
Maria Vorontsova, 36, and Katerina Tikhonova, 35, are from Vladimir Putin’s marriage to Lyudmila Putina, whose divorce the Russian president announced in 2013. Rare is the information about them that filters. Like their father, Vladimir Putin’s daughters protect their privacy. Very few photos of the two young women, in particular Katerina Tikhonova, are available in the databases of press agencies.
Maria Vorontsova, specialist in the health sector
The eldest, Maria Vorontsova, an endocrinologist for children, is one of the leaders of the Nomenko company, a major investment project company in the health sector, particularly in the fight against cancer. Because the company provides “substantial sources of income” to the Russian government, Maria Vorontosa is sanctioned, justifies the European Union.
Maria Vorontsova is married to Jorrit Faassen, a Dutch businessman. In 2014, after the crash of MH 17 attributed to pro-Russian separatists, in which 183 Dutch people died, the couple had to leave the Netherlands where they lived, under pressure from local authorities and residents.
Katerina Tikhonova, head of a support fund
A specialist in mechanical sciences, Katerina Tikhonova works on the scientific council of Moscow State University and is the head of Innopratika, a support fund for young Russian scientists. It is founded by companies whose leaders “are members of the circle of oligarchs close” to Putin, according to the European Union document, thus justifying these sanctions.
Katerina Tikhonova was married until 2018 to Kirill Nikolayevich Chamalov, a very wealthy businessman who was once an economic adviser to the government, already targeted by Western sanctions. He is the son of a very close friend of Vladimir Putin. His villa in Biarritz had recently been targeted by activists opposing the war in Ukraine.