#Names, Ages, Why He Keeps Them Secret

Russian President Vladimir Putin is famously secretive about his personal life, and has fought hard to prevent the media and the world from knowing much about his family.

Putin has long made a concerted effort to shield his personal life from the spotlight.

He has rarely publicly acknowledged his children, though media outlets have for years speculated and reported about the two daughters he had with his ex-wife.

Further reports center around rumors that two extramarital affairs may have produced other children.

Putin’s family affairs are so secretive that reports of the second marriage of one of his daughters only emerged in April 2022, thanks to investigative reporting published at least eight years after they reportedly got together. 

But as international pressure mounts on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, sanctions have closed in on his personal networks — and in particular, his children and rumored girlfriends.

One daughter from his first marriage, Katerina Tikhonova, has been entrusted with a key job overseeing import substitutions as Russia reels under sanctions.

Just weeks before the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Putin’s rumored girlfriend Alina Kabaeva praised the state’s war correspondents, saying their work is as effective as “a Kalashnikov.”

Here is what we know about the lives of Putin’s secret kids and partners.

Pat Ralph contributed reporting to previous versions of this article, which has been updated with new information.