Vladimir Putin is well known for his secrecy when it comes to the
women in his life.

Western sanctions, on the other hand, are casting light on all his
children’s mothers and ex-mistresses who are living luxurious and affluent
lives in the West, sponsored by money taken from Russians.

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Here are some of Putin’s romantic interests and what’s happening
in their children’s lives:

Lyudmila Shkrebneva

In 1983, this Russian flight attendant married Putin. When Putin
first became president in 2000, she was formally designated as the country’s
“first lady,” but they were already living separately.

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Their daughters, Maria Putina, 36, a former competitive dancer who
oversees an artificial intelligence initiative at Moscow State University, and
Katerina Tikhonova, 35, who uses the surname Vorontsova and is the co-owner of
Nomenko, a healthcare investment organisation, are now sanctioned.

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Svetlana Krivonogikh

Putin is said to have had a “lovechild” with this house
cleaner-turned-mistress who worked at one of his luxury properties in 2003.

Krivonogikh now resides in Monaco with her 19-year-old daughter,
Luiza Rozova, who is also known as Elizaveta Krivonogikh.

Rozova’s social media popularity skyrocketed to 85,000 followers
in 2020 after she was outed by the Russian website Proekt. However, her
Instagram page was loaded with anti-war comments from users humiliating her and
her  father after Putin invaded Ukraine, and her social media presence was
wiped away.

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“The sanctions appear designed to increase pressure on Putin
personally by embarrassing him because he has tried so hard to keep his
daughters out of the spotlight and also because there is reason to believe that
they are holding his wealth,” said Thomas Firestone, a sanctions expert and
partner at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, who previously worked as resident
legal adviser to the US Embassy in Moscow. “I think it may also be designed to
send a message to him about the kind of intelligence the US and NATO have about
his personal life and are prepared to use.”