Katerina Tikonova, often referred to as Vladimir Putin’s younger daughter, moved to Germany in 2019 and lived there up until early 2022, says a joint investigation by Der Spiegel and IStories.
Katerina parted with her husband Kirill Shamalov in 2017 and started visiting Munich very often before settling in Bavaria permanently in 2019, according to the investigation.
Tikhonova gave birth to a girl with a patronymic “Igorevna” in 2017. Four sources confirm that her Bavarian boyfriend is a 52-year old man named Igor Zelensky, a ballet dancer and the director of the Bayerisches Staatsballett between 2016 and 2022.
He has performed around the world, including with the Royal Ballet in London, at La Scala in Milan, at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich and with the New York City Ballet. Zelensky stepped down as the Bayerisches Staatsballett director in April 2022 due to the family commitments.
“Managing a ballet company requires concentration and working capacity. Right now, however, my personal affairs require my full dedication, which makes me leave my position in Munich. My family needs my support,” he said in his statement.
Both IStories and Der Spiegel assume that Zelensky was forced to leave after refusing to condemn Russia’s invasion into Ukraine. It is unknown where the couple and Putin’s supposed granddaughter are right now.
Vladimir Putin referred to people who left Russia as “national traitors” in March. “I do not condemn people who own a country home in Miami or the French Riviera, people who cannot do without foie gras, oysters or the so-called “gender liberty”. The problem is, mentally they are not with Russia and its people,” he said.
