Vladimir Putin has an illegitimate daughter living under a pseudonym in Paris, where she works as a DJ, Ukrainian media has reported.
The 21-year-old, who goes by the name of either Luiza Rozova or Elizaveta Olegovna Rudnova, was tracked down by a Ukrainian TV channel using leaked airline manifests.
She is said to be a love child from a brief affair between Putin and Svetlana Krivonogikh, a former cleaner who is now one of Russia’s richest women. Ms Krivonogikh has previously been referred to in the media as “Putin’s acquaintance”.
Reporters said that they had tracked down the birth certificate of Ms Rozova, who was born on March 3 2003.
The father’s name was not given on the birth certificate, but her patronymic name was indicated as Vladimirovna. Under Russian naming convention, Putin’s daughters would take this patronymic.
The journalists explained that her alleged false names are also linked to Putin. Oleg Rudnov, who died in 2015, had been a close friend of Putin, and the report suggests Putin’s love child had been given his name to hide her true identity. Luisa Rozova is also a variation of this name.
The reporters also published photos and video from Ms Rozova’s now deleted social media accounts, which showed her dancing and pouting at the camera.
She closed her accounts in 2022, shortly after Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, and after other users trolled her with Ukraine flag emojis and suggested she was hiding in a bunker.
In their report, the journalists compared her to photos of Putin in his youth and claimed they were near-identical, although in an audio conversion ion the Clubhouse social media channel n February 2021, Ms Rozova denied any likeness to Putin.
“Listen, judging by his young photos, probably, yes, it looks similar. But, as it turned out, there are a lot of people who look like Vladimir Vladimirovich,” she said, using the formal address in Russian.
‘I watch, you know, fashion shows’
In the Clubhouse audio records, Ms Rozova also described her life in obscurity. She said she deliberately lived in a “bubble” and did not follow the news.
“I watch, you know, fashion shows, I buy Vogue magazine. I like to go to a nearby restaurant and eat delicious pasta, discuss the latest gossip investigations with friends,” the Ukrainian report quoted her as saying.
Ms Krivonogikh, Ms Rozova’s mother, and Putin’s alleged lover, has enjoyed a surprising rise to riches.
She is reportedly worth £83 million, owns “several houses” in Monte Carlo and a yacht, and is a board member of Bank Rossiya, used by Russia’s elite to shift money around.
She also owns a stake in the Igora Ski Resort near Finland and is a director of the National Media Group, used by the Kremlin to regulate the output of its key propaganda channels.
Last year, Britain added Ms Krivonogikh to its sanctions list for “constantly promoting the Russian attack on Ukraine”.
Putin has two legitimate daughters, Maria and Katerina, with his first wife Lyudmila. He divorced her in 2013.
He is also alleged to have two sons with Alina Kabaeva, the Olympic gymnast. He has reportedly been having a romantic affair with Ms Kabaeva for more than two decades, but has always denied it.
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