Yekaterina Putina: Meet Putin's Dancer Daughter who is also a Biotechnology Expert

Very less is known about Russian President Vladimir Putin's personal life as he consciously reserves various assets to safeguard his privacy and that of his families. 

It hasn't been long since news broke about the two of his daughters from his previous marriage and a few more with a gymnast girlfriend, Alina Kabaeva. 

Yekaterina Putina aka Katerina Tikhonova is the second daughter of the Russian president with the wife of 30 years Lyudmila Shkrebneva. 

Below are some interesting facts about Yekaterina you didn't know before:

Mystery around actual names:

Being the daughter of one of the most powerful men on the plant is definitely a big deal and it also raises questions of safety and security. 

Both of Putin's daughters have lived much of their lives on anonymity because of which several names floating on the internet regarding them. 

For first names, there are, 'Katerina', 'Katya', 'Yekaterina' and for last names, there are 'Putina', 'Tikhonova' and 'Shamalov'. 

However, she goes by the name of Katerina Tikhonova Shkrebnova despite being born as Yekaterina Vladimirovna Putina, in Dresden, East Germany on 31st August of 1986. 

This was the time when her father was in the KGB and the whole family, therefore, lived there.

Nickname:

Yekaterina's nickname is Katya. And both Katerina and her sister Maria who has a nickname, 'Masha' are named after their grandmother.

Parents:

Vladimir Putin is a famous name in itself. Putin was married to Lyudmila Shkrebneva for 30 years before getting divorced in 2013. Lyudmila worked as an Aeroflot flight attendant before her marriage to him. Katerina took her surname 'Shkrebnova' from her maternal grandmother. 

Relationship: 

Putin's beloved daughter, Katya was married to his old friend Nicholay Shamalov's son Kirill Shamalov. Nicholay Shamalov is the co-owner of Rossiya Bank. The marriage transformed the careers of both of Shamalov's sons especially Kirill, Putin's son-in-law as he was named Russia's youngest Billionaire. Their marriage ended in 2018. 

Within 18 months of being married to the Russian president's daughter, Shamalov's fortunes skyrocketed as he acquired significant shares of Sibur, a major Russian oil, and petrochemical processor. The stake is now worth an estimated $2.5 billion dollars.

The Wedding:

The February 2013 wedding was surely discreet but was definitely a lavish one at Igora, a ski resort, north of St. Petersburg. The resort is set amid woodland with a picturesque lake and co-owned by the family of Putin's friend. 

The resort with a luxurious spa complex had guards behind every corner. Although the attendees were sworn to secrecy, no expense was spared as the couple rode in a traditional Russian sleigh with three white horses.

Katerina, the bride, wore a long dress tinted in pearls and the groom wore a dark overcoat. The guests wore white scarves with the letters K&K embroidered in red thread.

Education: 

After moving to Moscow in 1996 with the whole family, Yekaterina went to school in German School Moscow. But when Putin became acting President, both Tikhonova and her sister Maria were homeschooled privately.

She began her university studies at Saint Petersburg State University. But she graduated from Moscow State University in June 2009 majoring in Asian Studies with a specialization in Japanese History. Tikhonova also has a master's degree in Physics and Mathematics. Both sisters attended college with fake identities.

Career:

Katerina is a trained acrobatic rock n roll dancer. She has even taken part in competitions. On April 12, at a  2014 Worldcup Rock n' Roll acrobatic Competition event held in Krakow, Poland, she competed along with parter Ivan Klimov. Below is a video of her 2013 effort with the same dance partner.

Currently, she is credited as the director of two initiatives at Moscow State University namely, The National Intellectual Development Foundation (NIDF) and the National Intellectual Reserve Center (NIRC). 

Innopraktika is a $1.7 billion dollar project of Moscow State University for the creation of a science center that is directed by Katerina. Another project under her leadership regarding the new Artificial Intelligence Institute was announced in February of 2020.

Sibling: 

Yekaterina's older sister is Maria Vorontsova, born in Leningrad in 1985. She is 4 years older than Yekaterina. According to Lyudmila, Putin spoiled both daughters crazy while she had to discipline them. 

Maria studied biology in college and later went to a medical school in Moscow with a false identity like her sister Yekaterina.

She currently works as a medical researcher and is married to a Dutch guy named Jorrit Faassen. They live in Moscow and have a child together making Putin a grandfather. 

In 2017 Putin revealed to filmmaker Oliver Stone that he seldom gets to play with his grandchild, unfortunately.

Appeared on TV:

In December of 2018, despite Putin's carefully curated mystery, Yekaterina made an appearance on Russian State Tv as a  biotechnology expert.

Corona Factor: 

She is rumored to be the daughter, of the two that Putin has, who took the world's first coronavirus vaccine made in Russia which scientists doubted to be safe or effective. 

The one that Putin announced whose temperature decreased after taking two shots but was feeling well given her a high number of anti-bodies. But this is hardly confirmed and based on rumors like the news of her death following the vaccine.