Eurasia, a vast continent that has seen the rise and fall of great empires, is today dominated by political figures who, through absolute control and strategic secrecy, have created powerful dynasties. Vladimir Putin‘Tsar of all the Russias’, Alexander Lukashenkopresident of ‘White Russia’, and Ramzan Kadyrovauthoritarian leader of Chechnya, have built real dynasties, destined to endure and influence regional and global geopolitics for decades.
Putin, an enigmatic figure in modern Russia, has always kept his private life shrouded in mystery.. His daughters, Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, born from his marriage to his ex-wife Lyudmila, adopted their grandmothers’ surnames to live away from the spotlight. This ploy has allowed them to lead relatively private lives. Although their connection with Putin was officially denied in the past, today both occupy key positions in strategic sectors for the scientific and technological development of Russia, making a decisive contribution to medical research and technological innovation in the country.
Maria, born in 1985 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), has had a brilliant medical career, distinguishing herself in the Russian biomedical sector. She is a co-owner of the pharmaceutical company Nomeko, which is involved in advanced genetic research projects. According to available data, in 2023, Nomeko had a turnover of 1.3 billion rubles (about 13 million euros). Her role is crucial for Russia’s ambitions to compete internationally in the field of medicine and biotechnology. As reported by the newspaper Meduza, “Maria Vorontsova is more than just a doctor: she is the invisible face of a Russia that is trying to project itself into the future through science.”
Despite her secrecy, her private life has been reflected in international geopolitical tensions. Her marriage to Dutch businessman Jorrit Joost Faassen has been affected by growing tensions between Russia and the West, especially after the downing of flight MH17 in 2014, an event that marked a breaking point in relations with the Netherlands. The investigation, concluded in 2022, attributed responsibility to the Russian military, worsening the situation. Faassen, forced to leave the Netherlands, moved to Moscow, where he is currently under investigation for alleged violations of international sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine.
After separating from her husband, with whom she had a son, Maria began a relationship with Yevgeny Nagorny, a Russian manager in the natural resources sector and her current partner. Once a critic of the regime, Nagorny abandoned his political positions to enter the circles of power. Today, he lives with her in Russia, leading a deeply private life away from the spotlight, in perfect harmony with the discreet style required by the Tsar.
Katerina Tikhonova, Maria’s younger sister, was born in Dresden in 1986, while Putin was working for the KGB in Germany. She has made a name for herself in the field of physical and mathematical sciences and heads Innopraktika, a foundation linked to Moscow State University (MGU) that promotes technological innovation in Russia. Her management of strategic projects and billion-dollar investments in science has made her a central figure in the country’s technological development.
Her private life is closely intertwined with the dynamics of power. Her marriage to Kirill Shamalov, son of the oligarch Nikolai Shamalov, co-owner of the Rossiya Bank and a close ally of Putin, has further consolidated family ties at the top of the Russian elite. In addition to her passion for acrobatic rock’n’roll, which has led her to compete all over the world, other aspects of her private life have gradually emerged, breaking the veil of secrecy that previously enveloped her.
After separating from Shamalov, Katerina began to travel frequently to Germany, where the dancer Igor Zelensky, her current partner and the father of her daughter, born in 2017, lived. Zelensky, then artistic director of the Bavarian State Ballet, left his prestigious post only after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to the independent investigative news outlet Vazhnye istorii, whenever Tikhonova visited Bavaria, she was accompanied by government bodyguards. In the spring of 2018, a group of officers from Russia’s Federal Protective Service spent a month in Munich, with accommodation costs exceeding two million rubles (about 20,000 euros) while Katerina and her daughter were in the city.
Yet government protection in Russia has historically been reserved for family members who live with the president or accompany him on official trips. “It is clear that Katerina Tikhonova’s private trips do not fall within these criteria,” reporters had highlighted in the investigation.
Between 2016 and 2021, Russian Presidential Protection Service agent Alexei Skripchak booked nearly 100 hotels for Katerina Tikhonova’s escort, with more than a third of them abroad. More than 40 of the stays were in Germany, with other frequent stops in Austria and Italy. According to Der Spiegel, the unofficial visits of the Russian president’s daughter were not reported to German intelligence, and Moscow never sent the necessary notifications to allow the escort to carry weapons.
Putin’s dynasty narratives include Luiza Rozova, the Russian president’s alleged third daughter, born from his relationship with Svetlana Krivonogich, a former cleaner turned entrepreneur. A young influencer on Instagram, Luiza disappeared from social media in 2022, after the start of the war in Ukraine, attracting criticism for her luxurious lifestyle and resemblance to Putin. Although the president has never confirmed paternity, a journalistic investigation has revealed a series of privileges in favor of the young woman’s family, including a share in a bank and a luxury apartment in Monaco, both registered in their names.
While the Tsarist dynasty is distinguished by discretion and scientific innovation, Lukashenko’s follows a more traditional path. Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist, has long indicated his son Nikolai as the natural heir.. From a young age, Nikolai was presented as the future of the country, accompanying his father in diplomatic meetings and displaying surprising maturity.
Today, the scion studies biotechnology at Peking University and speaks fluent Russian, English and Chinese. His academic path is not accidental: it represents Lukashenko’s desire to place his son in a strategic position that positions Belarus as an intermediary between Russia and China, thus strengthening the geopolitical alliance between Minsk and Beijing. As some political observers note, “Nikolai Lukashenko is destined to succeed his father not only in command of the country, but also in representing the continuity of a system that thrives on absolute power and loyalty to Russia and China.” Nikolai’s education appears to be part of a broader strategy aimed at ensuring dynastic continuity and preserving control of the country in the hands of the family.
While Putin and Lukashenko rely on education and discretion, Ramzan Kadyrov has chosen brute force to perpetuate his dynasty.. The undisputed leader of Chechnya, Kadyrov has shaped his children as future guarantors of his authoritarian regime, known for its brutality and unbreakable bond with violence.
Akhmat Kadyrov, the eldest son, has already taken on leadership roles in government and sports initiatives, a symbol of power in the region. Adam, the sixteen-year-old son, is already the head of special units of the Chechen armed forces, embodying the principle that in Chechnya “power is not inherited only by name, but by blood and violence”, as some local media have pointed out. Young Adam represents the continuity of the regime, with a military education that prepares him to manage power with an iron fist.
Kadyrov’s daughter Aišat also plays key roles in the dynasty, running the Chechen Ministry of Culture and the Firdaws fashion house. Despite the regime’s anti-Western rhetoric, she has consolidated the dynasty’s presence in the international fashion world, maintaining a style tied to Islamic traditions and building significant ties with the West.
The Putin, Lukashenko, and Kadyrov dynasties represent a model of hereditary power, intertwining politics and secrecy. While Maria and Katerina Putin, along with Nikolai Lukashenko, pursue educational and diplomatic paths to project modernity, Ramzan Kadyrov’s children embody a more brutal vision, based on military control. These families, founded on blood ties and fueled by secret dynamics, pursue the common goal of consolidating and preserving power. While strategically and inescapably mapping the future of their countries, they infiltrate the West with the intent of dominating it.
