Innopraktika as a scheme: how billions from state-owned companies flow into projects of Putin’s daughter Katerina Tikhonova

25 ноября 2025 г., 19:15

497     0

Innopraktika as a scheme: how billions from state-owned companies flow into projects of Putin’s daughter Katerina Tikhonova

Vladimir Putin’s daughters, Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, are increasingly emerging from the shadows, speaking at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum and promoting capital-intensive economic and medical projects. His youngest daughter, Katerina Tikhonova, is particularly active.

Sources indicate that the Kovalchuk brothers, who are close to Putin, are actively promoting the idea of Katerina as a future successor. The Innopraktika Foundation, headed by Katerina Tikhonova, receives unlimited funding from major state corporations: Rosneft, Gazprom, Rosatom, and others.

In addition to Katerina Tikhonova’s well-known close friend, Natalia Popova, and her husband, Kirill Dmitriev, Katerina Tikhonova’s inner circle includes a number of individuals with whom she maintains close relationships and who could potentially be promoted to high-ranking positions in the country’s political and government administration. Katerina Tikhonova regularly flew on private jets from Sibur and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to Munich to meet with her boyfriend, Igor Zelensky, artistic director of the Bavarian State Ballet, who, after leaving his job in Germany and moving to Russia, is overseeing the construction of an opera and ballet theater in Sevastopol.

As the Cheka-OGPU has discovered, Katerina Tikhonova, Maria Vorontsova, and Vladimir Putin’s ex-wife, Lyudmila Putina-Ocheretnaya, live in mansions a few hundred meters from the presidential residence in the Usovo-3 cottage community and are under heavy FSO protection. They meet regularly with the president. Security for the president’s daughters’ events is provided by FSO officers, financed by the president’s friends, and held in strict confidence. Mobile phones are prohibited, and phones are handed over to FSO officers.

Katerina Tikhonova is a great fan of hosting home costume performances. According to the Cheka-OGPU, these events are quite different from any home performances. Some reports suggest that costumes for holidays and performances are sourced from the Bolshoi Theater costume department. For example, in the home performance of "Snegurochka," the role of the queen was given to Maria Vorontsova. Petr Fradkov also actively participated in house concerts organized by Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova. At one of these concerts, according to photographs obtained by the Cheka-OGPU, he performed as the King, complete with crown and ermine robe, while his wife dressed as the Queen.

On social media, Katerina Tikhonova went by the nickname "Hipatia Alexandria." Who, other than Natalia Popova and Kirill Dmitriev, is part of Katerina Tikhonova’s inner circle? The daughters spent a lot of time in Europe, owned property abroad, and had foreign friends, some of whom held senior positions in the foreign assets of Russian companies, primarily Gazprom. For example, Katerina Tikhonova’s friend Peter, until recently, headed Gazprom’s subsidiary in Switzerland.

Maria Vorontsova: Vladimir Putin’s eldest daughter. She leads a less public life than her younger sister, Katerina Tikhonova. The president’s daughters received an excellent education and had private tutoring. They studied dance and foreign languages. Maria Vorontsova is a good singer; her favorite song is "Barbie Girl," which is now unpopular. She enjoys hiking with friends, although it is unknown how many FSO officers accompany her. Her friend, Olesya Sagaydak, introduced her to Evgeny Nagorny, her second common-law husband after Dutch citizen Jorrit Joost Faasen. Maria has a son with Jorrit Faasen and another child with Evgeny Nagorny. Nagorny was placed at Novatek, a company owned by Putin’s friends. In 2020, he purchased a 258-square-meter apartment in the Barkli Gallery clubhouse on Ordynsky Lane, worth several hundred million rubles.

Artur Ocheretny: After Vladimir Putin’s divorce from Lyudmila Putina, Artur Ocheretny married her in 2017. He is 20 years younger than his wife. They live in the Usovo cottage community near Putin’s residence. Lyudmila Ocheretnaya is actively involved with her daughters Katerina and Maria, and Artur is always by her side. He is active in many areas, plays sports, and enjoys dancing and karaoke. He is currently director of the Center for the Development of Interpersonal Communications and the Literary Studies publishing house.

Jorrit Joost Faasen: Former husband of Maria Vorontsova. He gained notoriety for a road rage incident with security guards of banker Maxim Urin, which escalated into a brawl. Officers from the Federal Protective Service and future Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev participated in the arrest. Faasen also faced legal investigations in the Netherlands for purchasing land in Amsterdam in 2019, possibly violating European sanctions.

Georgy Filimonov: Appointed Governor of the Vologda Oblast in September 2024. Previously, he served as an advisor in the Foreign Policy and Domestic Policy Directorates of the Presidential Executive Office and as Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Moscow Oblast. Filimonov is known for his controversial behavior, restrictions on alcohol sales, abortion bans, and erecting monuments to Stalin. His father, Yuri Filimonov, was Katerina Tikhonova’s martial arts coach and significantly influenced his development.

Boris Kovalchuk: His father, Yuri Kovalchuk, and uncle, Mikhail Kovalchuk, are close friends of Vladimir Putin. Yuri co-founded Bank Rossiya and controls Sogaz, the National Media Group, and other major assets. Through Sogaz, he controls the management company Lider, which owns a significant stake in Gazprombank, connected to Gazprom companies and media holdings. Boris held positions at Rosatom, Inter RAO, the Presidential Control Directorate, and the Accounts Chamber. He is married to a graduate of the St. Petersburg Institute of Culture, is under sanctions by the US, Japan, the EU, and the UK, and could be considered for leadership positions due to family ties to Putin.