In April, Putin declared income of 7.65 million rubles (about $120,000 at the time). Officially, he owns two modest apartments and a share in a garage. His daughter Yekaterina, however, appears to be doing much better, with support from the president’s wealthy friends.
That rather mocking opening — in my rendering — is how Reuters begins its major article on Katerina Tikhonova, Putin’s daughter.
Some of the article’s points had surfaced before, but its real value lies in how it systematizes and fact-checks them. For example, previously no one could confirm with 100% certainty that K. Tikhonova was Putin’s daughter; now Reuters effectively settles the matter with confirmation from the head of Gazprombank.
Katerina Putin’s family — together with Kirill Shamalov — is described as controlling a holding company worth $2 billion.
Interestingly, Timchenko’s former house in Biarritz, which we wrote about in July 2014 — we found it, photographed it, and provided all the documents — is explicitly identified as property of the Shamalov-Putin family.
This gives young patriots something to reflect on: the “Russian World” (a Kremlin-backed civilizational concept), the importance of the “nationalization of the elites,” and all the rest of that de-offshorization rhetoric.
There’s a quote from me as well. I talk about the neo-feudal system being built in Russia:
All in all, Reuters did an excellent job — this is an important piece for understanding what our government really is. Read it in English, and if you can’t, I’m sure it will be translated soon.