LITTLE is known about Vladimir Putin’s daughters, sanctioned by the United States government yesterday over Russia’s “atrocities in Ukraine”.

The US Treasury identified the Russian president’s daughters as Maria Vorontsova, who leads state-funded genetics research programmes “personally overseen by Putin”, and Katerina Tikhonova, “a tech executive whose work supports… the Russian defence industry”.

A US official said Washington believes that “Putin’s assets are hidden with family members”.

According to Putin’s official biography on the Kremlin portal, Maria was born in 1985 before the family moved to Dresden, where Putin served as a KGB agent.

Katerina was born the next year in Dresden. The only known photo of the women shows them as little girls, with bows in blond braids.

In rare remarks over the years, Putin has disclosed that his daughters received their university education in Russia, live in Russia and speak several European languages. Putin also has grandchildren.

Not much is known officially beyond that, as the Kremlin has kept Putin’s family life firmly out of public sight.

According to Russian media reports, Vorontsova is an endocrinologist involved in a large medical research company focused on cancer treatment with ties to the government.

They identified Tikhonova as a mathematician who heads a science and technology foundation affiliated with Russia’s leading state university.

Tikhonova is also a professional acrobatic rock-and-roll dancer, who has taken part in prestigious international competitions, said the reports.

Videos from those tournaments show Tikhonova, wearing glistering fitted costumes stepping onto her partner’s hands and being catapulted into the air for flips and somersaults.

During a press conference in 2019, Putin declined to directly answer a question about his daughters’ growing business clout and their ties to the government, never actually acknowledging that both were his children and simply referring to them as “women”.

“I am proud of them. They continue to study and they work,” he said during another press conference several years earlier.

“They are not involved in any business activity and politics. They are not trying to push their way anywhere.”

In an interview in 2020, Putin said he does not want to share any information about his family because of “security concerns”.

However, he did disclose that he has grandchildren, but will not say how many.

“I have grandkids, I am happy. They are very good, so sweet. I really enjoy spending time with them.” – AFP, April 7, 2022.