The Shady Reason Putin Refuses To Have His Daughters In The Spotlight

During his decades-long rule over the country of Russia, President Vladimir Putin has carefully curated a "strong man" image in the eyes of the public. But one thing that the public does not know much about is Putin's family life. The little we know is that Putin was married to Lyudmila Shkrebneva for almost 30 years, and they had two children together before their divorce in 2013. Both of Putin's eldest children are now in their 30s. His first daughter goes by Maria Vorontsova, and she works in Russia in the medical field as an endocrinologist. His second daughter is named Katerina Tikhonova and is the head of Moscow State University's artificial intelligence department.

Although both of his daughters have had great accomplishments in their lives, Putin has always been hesitant to talk about his children. "They have never been 'star' children," Putin said during a press conference (via Reuters). "They have never got pleasure from the spotlight being directed on them. They just live their own lives."

But analysts are now suspecting that there is a more sinister reason why Putin does not discuss his daughters often.

Because of President Vladimir Putin's assaults on the country of Ukraine, the United States has imposed sanctions on many aspects of Russia's economy. As these sanctions have not done much to directly affect Putin himself, America has begun to shift its strategy toward more personal sanctions against the dictator. This now includes President Joe Biden enacting sanctions that target Putin's eldest daughters.

And CNN's analysts suspect this is exactly the reason why Putin has held back information about his children. The U.S. suspects that Putin has hidden many of his assets — like money and luxury items — with his daughters, which is why they imposed sanctions on the women. "[Putin] doesn't want to be vulnerable to anyone else doing something to him if a lot is known about his family," Professor Howard Stoffer told CNN.

Russian officials have called the sanctions on Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova "difficult to understand and explain," per the New York Post. It is unclear whether or not these sanctions will actually hurt Putin. But the U.S. sure is trying to ramp up the pressure on Putin in order to hopefully influence his decisions in Ukraine.