Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

Vladimir Putin won't be too happy with name of daughter's boyfriend

Vladimir Putin won't be too happy with name of daughter's boyfriend

As Vladimir Putin’s forces suffer humiliating setbacks in Ukraine, the name of his daughter’s boyfriend might rub salt in the wounds.

Katerina Tikhonova, 35, is in a relationship with Russian ballet dancer Igor Zelensky, a new investigation has revealed.

Sanctions against her have stopped her flying from Moscow to Munich to be with her man, who has the same surname as Ukrainian president Voloydmyr Zelensky.

Her partner, with whom she has a two-year-old daughter, is a leading dancer and more recently a top director who until recently led the Bavarian State Ballet.

The revelation comes from an investigation by Russian independent news outlet IStories and Germany’s Der Spiegel.

Previously Tikhonova, an acrobatic dancer turned scientist and businesswoman, was wed to Russia’s youngest billionaire Kirill Shamalov, 40.

They split around 2017 when she started a relationship with Zelensky, 52, who was married with two daughters and a son to choreographer Yana Serebryakova.

Zelensky, 52, is thought to have left the Bavarian State Ballet after refusing to condemn Putin’s war in Ukraine


Putin has raged against Russians who live their lives in the West – yet his own daughter was making frequent trips to Munich with full state support and security to spend time with her partner.

Until the invasion of Ukraine was launched earlier this year, it appears she was living with him in Germany

‘For two years, from 2017 to 2019, the little girl’s mother had to fly this route — from Moscow to Munich and back — many dozens of times,’ IStories’ report said.

The journalistic investigation found documents proving flights involving ‘Tikhonova, Zelensky, a child, nannies, security guards’.

It revealed that over a two year period she flew to Munich ‘more than 50 times’ to be with Zelensky.

He is known as one of Russia’s most successful ballet dancers – staring in St Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre and the New York City Ballet Company. He was also a guest soloist in London’s Royal Ballet.

Katerina Tikhonova, 35, is said to have a two-year-old daughter with Zelensky


An anonymous source provided documents, emails and passport details from Putin’s security service and Tikhonova’s personal security guard Alexei Skripchak, who was said to have bought the family plane tickets.

Zelensky, who is Russian born with Georgian roots, is not believed to be related to the Ukrainian president.

He quit the Bavarian State Ballet last month, apparently after refusing to condemn Putin’s bloody war in Ukraine.

When asked about his former head, a source at the company told Der Spiegel immediately replied that Zelensky was ‘most likely the partner of Putin’s daughter’.

By the end of 2019, Tikhonova apparently got tired of constantly flying to Munich and decided to move in with her boyfriend, the report says.

Tikhonova’s boyfriend is not believed to be related to Ukraine’s Volodymy Zelensky


This appears to be indicated by a letter stored in an archive of Skripchak, investigators add.

In 2016, before assuming his post in Munich, and prior to his relationship with Putin’s daughter, Zelensky commented on the fallout of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

‘I am not a politician, but they should sit down at the same table and calm down. Art will save the world,’ he said.

There have been long rumours that he had high level patrons in Moscow, but today’s revelation is the first time he has been linked with Putin’s family.

In March, after launching his invasion of Ukraine, the Russian president hit out at his countrymen who enjoyed life in the West.

‘I do not condemn those who have a villa in Miami or on the French Riviera, who cannot do without foie gras, oysters or so-called gender freedoms,’ he said.

Putin previously hit out at his fellow Russians who enjoyed life in the West too much


‘The problem is absolutely not in this, but in the fact that many of these people, by their very nature, are mentally there, not here, not with our people, not with Russia.’

The managing director of the Bavarian State Opera Serge Dorney told Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus that Zelensky’s departure from his German ballet was linked to the war.

Evidently thinking he was speaking to Ukraine’s culture minister, he said: ‘We talked with him several times, and I made him come to the conclusion that he should leave.

‘He did not make this decision on his own. We had a conversation with him, and I brought him to this conclusion.’

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Israel Launches 'Operation Rising Lion' Targeting Iranian Nuclear and Military Sites
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
Syria to Reconnect to Global Economy After 14 Years of Isolation
Saudi Arabia Faces Uncertainty Over Succession After Mohammed bin Salman
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Majority of French Voters View Macron's Presidency as a Failure
U.S. Reduces Military Presence in Syria
Trump Demands Iran End All Uranium Enrichment in Nuclear Talks
Iran Warns Europe Against Politicizing UN Nuclear Report
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
Head of Gaza Aid Group Resigns Amid Humanitarian Concerns
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
×