Reuters: Putin’s daughter, a young billionaire and the president’s friends
The Russian leader’s younger daughter Katerina is emerging as a woman of influence in the next generation of Moscow’s elite
LONDON/MOSCOW – Since Vladimir Putin began cementing his grip on Russia in the 1990s, many of his friends have grown famously rich.
Not so the president himself, say his supporters, who insist Putin is above the money grab that has marked his reign. His public financial disclosures depict a man of modest means. In April, Putin declared an income for 2014 of 7.65 million roubles ($119,000). He listed the ownership of two modest apartments and a share in a car parking garage.
His daughter Katerina is doing considerably better, supported by some of the Russian president’s wealthy friends, a Reuters examination shows.
After unconfirmed media speculation about Katerina’s identity, a senior Russian figure told Reuters that she uses the surname Tikhonova. Andrey Akimov, deputy chairman of Russian lender Gazprombank, said he had met Katerina when she was little and more recently, and that Tikhonova was Putin’s daughter.
WNU Editor: Yup ... nepotism is alive and well in Russia .... with a heavy dose of corruption. Reuters has a great selection of news stories/exposes on doing business in Russia. That link is here .... Comrade Capitalism