Vladimir Putin‘s secret daughter is living under a pseudonym while residing in the West during his bloody war with Ukraine, reports claim.
Ekaterina Krivonogikh, 21, is believed to be posing as a relative of late Putin ally Oleg Rudnov, according to a Ukrainian TV investigation.
Ms Krivonogikh – also known as Luiza Rozova – vanished shortly before the start of the war in Ukraine, but earlier had a visible social media footprint in Russia.
TSN claims to have tracked her and her mother – a 49-year-old cleaner-turned-multimillionaire – down, saying they are now going by the Rudnova family name.
According to TSN, Ekaterina has been a student at the Paris School of Management and Arts during the war in Ukraine – but may not be there any more.
They say Ekaterina has a passport identifying her as Elizaveta Olegovna Rudnova, with her known date of birth as 3 March 2003.
This means she was born when Putin was Russian president and married to first lady Lyudmila Putina, who he later divorced.
TSN reports that she has a passport identifying her as Elizaveta Olegovna Rudnova
Ekaterina Krivonogikh is believed to have been studying in Paris through the war (File)
Vladimir Putin is believed to have formed a friendship her mother when he was St Petersburg’s deputy mayor (pictured today in Kazakhstan)
Svetlana Krivonogikh, a cleaning lady turned multi-millionaire, has been romantically linked with Vladimir Putin since he was deputy mayor of her hometown St. Petersburg
The Ukrainian outlet reported: ‘After extensive research, TSN found Ekaterina had changed her surname to Rudnova, allegedly taking the last name of Oleg Rudnov, a close Putin ally who once arranged luxury real estate deals.
‘The change further highlights the alleged connection to Putin.’
She is seen as using the name Rudnova on flight bookings and for other purposes.
By calling herself Rudnova, she hides her patronymic name – Vladimirovna – which identifies her father’s name as Vladimir.
She has largely disappeared during the war in Ukraine, after being seen at the Louvre in 2021, but there were reports she was studying in Paris.
Earlier she had her own fashion brand and worked as a DJ in Russia.
There were reports that ahead of the war in Ukraine, Putin sought to block her public profile.
‘And as far as I know, something happened in October 2021 because she deleted her Instagram account and she is no [longer] public,’ said Andrei Zakharov, who revealed her existence.
‘It looks like somebody told her: ‘Stop it’.’
Her mother, Svetlana Krivonogikh, who shares in a top bank and owns a prominent St Petersburg striptease club.
She also reportedly uses the same name Rudnova, the female version of Rudnov.
Ekaterina and her mother are known to occupy an elite £3.1 million residence in Monaco.
Svetlana was born in Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg in 1975 and went on to study at the city’s University of Economics and Finance in the department of international relations.
She is rumoured to have been working as a shop cleaner following her education in the late 1990s, where she allegedly caught the eye of Putin.
In 2020, independent Russian investigative news site Proekt claimed that Krivonogikh formed a friendship with Putin while he was St Petersburg’s deputy mayor – and therefore still married to Lyudmila Shkrebneva.
Scarce public evidence suggests the pair travelled together on the same planes as Putin rose through the ranks.
But a leak of millions of sensitive documents in 2021 – known as the Pandora Papers – revealed how Krivonogikh grew rich after Putin became Russia’s president in 2000.
Elizaveta previously refused to confirm or deny she is the Kremlin strongman’s heiress
‘I am very grateful for the chance to be in the limelight’ she said amid speculation in 2021
The 21-year-old is now reportedly posing as a relative of late Putin ally Oleg Rudnov
She came into possession of several properties, including a luxurious Moscow apartment, bought in 2003.
She also became a shareholder in Bank Rossiya, known for its connections to Putin’s inner circle.
According to Proekt, Krivonogikh accumulated a $100m fortune from her holding in Bank Rossiya.
And in March 2003 – three years after Putin became president – she gave birth to a daughter, who is known as Elizaveta Krivonogikh, or’ Luiza Rozova’.
For a time Rozova, who is now in her early 20s, regularly posted on Instagram about her own glamorous life – attending parties, spending time with friends from influential families and travelling on private jets.
But her social media disappeared immediately following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Before the war, she said she was loving being in the ‘limelight’ after her identity was revealed by opposition media.
Svetlana Krivonogikh is believed to be a multimillionaire secret lover of Putin’s
Krivonogikh is rumoured to have been working as a shopcleaner following her education in the late 1990s, where she allegedly caught the eye of Putin
Luiza was answering questions on Clubhouse, an invitation-only audio-chat social networking app, from among others journalist Andrey Zakharov, who broke the story about her for Proekt.Media.
Zakharov – who now works for the BBC Russian Service – asked Luiza: ‘Have I caused you a bad trauma by my investigation?’
She replied: ‘Oh no, not at all. My life was so stagnant, I am very grateful for the chance to be in the limelight, that people heard about my account.
‘I’m not trying and never have to popularise myself. I am feeling very well indeed, don’t worry about me.
‘My life goes on, and all is well.’