Putin's daughters make rare appearance at St. Petersburg forum

Putin's daughters appeared at the Economic Forum in St. Petersburg. The speech by the dictator's youngest daughter garnered particular attention. Tichonova spoke about Russia's industrial and defense independence. For many years, Vladimir Putin has meticulously protected his family's privacy.

The agenda of the Economic Forum in St. Petersburg could have caused consternation among the participants. In addition to the countless managers and officials, the list of panelists included two names rarely seen publicly and certainly not together—the names of Vladimir Putin's daughters.

Tichonova's panel meeting occurred on Thursday morning, while Vorontsova will be lecturing on Friday.

The appearance of Tichonova, Putin's youngest daughter, was seen as a signal of a planned role for her in Russian public life, and possibly in politics.

The 37-year-old became the general director of Innopraktika, an innovation fund at Lomonosov University in Moscow. Everyone listened and was very interested in Tichonova's videoconference. She was not introduced as Vladimir Putin's daughter, but the term "Katerina Vladimirovna" was enough of a clue for the audience.

Observers believe that Tichonova’s style of speech, reminiscent of her father, also gave her away. The 37-year-old reportedly delivered a monologue about new innovative programs, and her technocratic language and emotionally detached delivery made her sound robotic.

- The country's sovereignty is one of the critical issues of recent years; it is the basis of Russia's security. It's not just about the technological side but also part of a particular general sovereignty. Therefore, technological sovereignty should involve active interaction between all technological aspects, society, industry, and the state - reads a part of her speech quoted by the German "Bild."

However, Tichonova's flood of words contains an important message: Russia is trying to replace imports with domestic production, including in the military sector.

The Kremlin's invitation of Putin's daughter to the panel on this topic may indicate how important military independence is to the dictator. It may also suggest that the Russian President no longer wants to rely on his current allies, such as China and Iran. Tichonova, as the leader of industrial programs, could have a huge impact on Russia's defense sector as well.

During her speech, she explicitly thanked the new Minister of Defense, Alexei Belousov, for supporting her project. Experts believe that Putin appointed Belousov to boost the defense industry and ultimately lead Russia into a wartime economy. Reportedly, Putin's daughter is supposed to help with this.

Not much is known about Katerina Tichonova. She was born 1986 in Dresden, where Putin was stationed as a Soviet KGB spy. She attended a German school in Russia. In 2013, she married the son of an influential state banker and later reportedly divorced him. She allegedly has a daughter with the Russian ballet dancer Igor Selensky.