- Russia's youngest billionaire has triggered a scandal by flying to Dubai
- Sanctioned Kirill Shamalov is also Vladimir Putin's former son-in-law
- His new partner is reported the daughter of a powerful secret services general
Russia's youngest billionaire - who is also Vladimir Putin's former son-in-law - has triggered a scandal by flying to Dubai with the wealthy daughter of an FSB general amid sanctions misery in Moscow.
Sanctioned Kirill Shamalov, who staged a lavish party for his 40th birthday in the UAE, was formerly married to Katerina Tikhonova, 35, the Russian president's high-kicking 'rock'n'roll' dancing second daughter.
'While everyone in the country is tightening their belts, and business and industry are entrusted with key roles in saving the economy, Vladimir Putin's former son-in-law, billionaire shareholder of Sibur [petrochemicals giant] Kirill Shamalov, is burning his life,' reported VChK-OGPU Telegram channel.
Kirill Shamalov, 40, ex-husband of Katerina Tikhonova, the alleged daughter of Vladimir Putin
Business tycoon, lawyer and petrochemical magnate Kirill Shamalov had already been subject to US-backed sanctions in 2018 after he was publicly named as the spouse of Putin's youngest daughter
Sanctioned Kirill Shamalov staged a lavish party for his 40th birthday in the UAE
His new partner is reported as Anastasia Zadorina, 33, (pictured) daughter of a powerful secret services general in the FSB, playing a key role in Putin's invasion of Ukraine
Zadorina is the founder of her own haute couture brand anastaiAZadorina and the ZASPORT label
ZASPORT label is the official outfitter for the Russian Olympic team
Shamalov is Russia's youngest billionaire and also os Vladimir Putin's former son-in-law
His new partner is reported as Anastasia Zadorina, 33, daughter of a powerful secret services general in the FSB, playing a key role in Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
She hosted his lavish 40th birthday party at the Burj Al Arab tower in Dubai, far from the sanctions gloom in Moscow, say reports.
The party was 'only for the elite and was held in conditions of increased secrecy, given the current events in Ukraine', explained the channel.
'Along with Shamalov, guests were received by his new passion - FSB general's daughter… Anastasia Zadorina.
Zadorina hosted the lavish 40th birthday party at the Burj Al Arab tower in Dubai, far from the sanctions gloom in Moscow, say reports
Kirill Shamalov is one of Vladimir Putin's named cronies who have been hit with sanctions designed to inflict 'maximum and lasting pain on Russia'. He married Putin's daughter, Katerina, in a 'secret' wedding (left) at the Igora ski resort in February 2013
Mr Shamalov was formerly married to Katerina Tikhonova, 35, the Russian president's high-kicking 'rock'n'roll' dancing second daughter
Katerina Tikhonova, 35, (pictured above dancing in the 2010s) has never been officially confirmed as Putin's daughter
'Sources say there will be a wedding soon.'
Earlier Shamalov's marriage to Katerina was seen to collapse when he started a relationship with London-based jet-setting investor Zhanna Volkova, 44.
This broke up in acrimony last year after they had sat out the height of the pandemic together, and divorce or annulment hearings were held in secret in Moscow.
A source close to the billionaire - the son of one of Putin's oldest friends - said he had 'loved Zhanna very much' but had questioned her alleged bid to obtain British citizenship at a time when he was sanctioned by the West for his Kremlin links.
Zadorina is the founder of her own haute couture brand anastaiAZadorina and the ZASPORT label, official outfitter for the Russian Olympic team.
Zhanna Volkova, 44, (pictured) second wife of Kirill Shamalov, who was married to Katerina Tikhonova, alleged daughter of Vladimir Putin
Earlier Shamalov's marriage to Katerina was seen to collapse when he started a relationship with London-based jet-setting investor Zhanna Volkova, 44
A source close to the billionaire - the son of one of Putin's oldest friends - said he had 'loved Zhanna very much' but had questioned her alleged bid to obtain British citizenship at a time when he was sanctioned by the West for his Kremlin links
Nikolay Shamalov, 72, (pictured), a close friend of Vladimir Putin and the father of Kirill Shamalov
Earlier she designed Russian patriotic propaganda T-shirts referring to Putin's missiles labelled: 'Topol is not afraid of sanctions', referring to Russia's intercontinental ballistic missile called Topol, and 'Sanctions? Don't make fun of my Iskanders.'
'Kirill left for the UAE in the company of the FSB general's daughter, the founder of the [Russian] Olympic brand, Anastasia Zadorina, a little less than a week ago,' reported VChK-OGPU.
'The couple rests and waits out the turbulent times on the beach in the mornings, and in the evenings in karaoke.'
Dubai is seen to have replaced London as the favoured bolthole for super-rich Russians as sanctions take hold.
Colonel General Mikhail Shekin, 64, (pictured) father of Anastasia Zadorina, 33
The playboy oligarch was also hit by a leak of videos before his Dubai trip - one showing him worse for wear in a car, and the other with a mystery woman.
Zadorina's father is powerful Col-Gen Mikhail Shekin, in charge of supplying FSB agents with all equipment.
His daughter reportedly graduated from Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) - a training ground for future top diplomats and spies.
Shamalov's father Nikolay Shamalov, 72, a Soviet-era dentist, and Putin were old dacha neighbours near St Petersburg in the 1990s.
He became rich after obtaining a share in Bank Rossiya, as did other Putin associates.
Kirill and Katerina are among a new generation of Russians who enjoy aristocrat-like privileges, gain positions of power and amass huge personal wealth from their well-connected families.
Anastasia Zadorina, founder of Zasport clothing brand (right), wearing a T-shirt with a slogan written over it: 'Sanctions? Don't make my Iskanders laugh'
Before he had even graduated from university, Kirill was appointed Gazprom's Chief Legal Counsel for foreign economic activity in 2002. He was just 20 at the time.
Three years later, he became 'Chief Legal Counsel' at Gazprombank, then still a subsidiary of Gazprom before joining Sibur, the country's largest petrochemical company as a vice president in 2008.
His father Nikolai, a close friend to Putin's regime, remains a deputy chairman on the firm's board and is a shareholder in Bank Rossiya, which intelligence officials have previously called the 'personal bank' for Russia's elite and was hit with sanctions.
While Kirill grew up in the 1990s, his father co-founded The Ozero Cooperative, a development of 'dachas' near St Petersburg, with Putin. Various members of the Ozero development went on to prominence in Putin's Russia.
Kirill's fortunes began to skyrocket soon after his wedding to the president's daughter, a competitive acrobatic dancer who helped oversee a $1.7billion expansion of Moscow State University.
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, now jailed, had alleged Kirill became Russia's youngest billionaire after a a '$380million wedding gift' when he obtained a Sibur share for just $100.
Shamalov denied any wrongdoing.
A woman wearing a T-shirt designed by Anastasia Zadorina with a slogan written over it: 'Topol is not afraid of sanctions', referring to Russia's intercontinental ballistic missile called Topol
When he wed Putin's daughter, the pair were gifted a €4.5million Biarritz mansion and a property near Moscow where the renovation came to almost €8million, according to iStories investigative outlet leaked emails.
Biarritz is known to be an attractive tourist destination for wealthy Russians.
Members of Russia's 19th century imperial aristocracy would visit Biarritz's Hôtel du Palais, a former palace built in the 1850s for French Empress Eugénie.
Prior to assuming the presidency, it was reported that Putin was personally contacted by the Kremlin while vacationing with family in the French town.
It was in Biarritz that the spy chief and now alleged war criminal was told by Boris Yeltsin he would become his successor.
And in the early 2000s, Russia unusually appointed an honorary consul to the tiny town, despite nearby cities of Bordeaux and Toulouse, which boast much higher populations, not having any similar diplomatic outposts.
'It was because Putin's circle has an affection for this place,' Alexandre de Miller de La Cerda, the town's consul and descendant of Russian nobility, was quoted as saying in Time magazine.
Tikhonova now spearheads a major new Russian artificial intelligence initiative, say reports.
She is deputy director of the Institute for Mathematical Research of Complex Systems at Moscow State University.
Kirill has been known to lead a life of luxury both in his homeland and abroad and he and his then-wife, Katerina, had planned to live a luxurious joint life in Russia and France.
The couple reportedly spent millions of dollars furnishing real estate near to Putin's residence and in the French seaside resort of Biarritz. They spent nearly £50,000 on a carpet and more than £5,000 on Japanese books alone.
Zhanna Volkova, his ex-wife, would later allege that Kirill was always interested in 'girls with wealth, self-confidence and without material problems'.
RBC, an independent news corporation, also claimed Shamalov appeared in a VIP-box at the 2015 Formula One Grand Prix in Sochi, won by Lewis Hamilton.
Sources claim the Shamalov family have a love for cars.
Kirill and his older brother, Yuri, were said to be regular participants at rallies in Moscow and were reported seen arriving to one such event in a rare 1930s Mercedes.
The Shamalov brothers are known to have deep connections to other members of the Putin elite who reshaped Russia's economy in the 2000s and made personal fortunes doing so.
How Katerina Tikhonova is widely reported to be Putin's daughter but neither the president nor the Kremlin will comment about her
She is the boogie-woogie dancing daughter of Vladimir Putin who some say could one day take over from the Russian President.
Mystery has long surrounded Katerina Tikhonova with the Kremlin having attempted to keep her out of the public eye.
The 32-year-old was named as the strongman's child in 2015 by a senior Russian businessman and then in November by a dance colleague - but both later changed their stories.
Putin and her mother, Lyudmila Putina, divorced in 2013 and Katerina uses a surname inherited from her grandmother.
Mystery has long surrounded Katerina Tikhonova (pictured), the rumoured daughter of Vladimir Putin, with the Kremlin having attempted to keep her out of the public eye
While her identity has been widely assumed, it has never been confirmed by Tikhonova herself, her representatives or the Kremlin, which says it does not comment on the private lives of Putin's close relatives.
Tikhonova runs publicly-funded projects at Moscow State University and serves as the WRRC's vice president for expansion and marketing.
She is a major player in acrobatic rock'n'roll, a niche dance discipline she has competed in and helps manage through senior positions at the WRRC and the Russian national federation.
She and Kirill Shamalov wed in a sumptuous ceremony at Igora ski resort near St Petersburg and rode in a traditional sleigh pulled by three white horses.
Tikhonova is a major player in acrobatic rock'n'roll, a niche dance discipline she has competed in and helps manage through senior positions at the WRRC and the Russian national federation
Katerina Tikhonova, 31, is pictured, second from right, at a dancing conference
All guests were sworn to secrecy, and no official announcements were made.
However, reports in Russia suggest the couple have since split with Shamalov linked to a Moscow socialite.
Tikhonova may be best known for her dancing, but there have been claims in Moscow that Putin is gradually grooming her as his eventual successor in 2024.
Reports last year suggested Putin is quietly grooming Katerina - also known as Ekaterina - for possible 'tsardom' to takeover.
'Trying to run a woman through an election campaign in Russia is quite an interesting and modern political experiment,' wrote Natalia Gevorkyan, a Putin biographer.
Tikhonova (pictured in a dance performance) runs publicly-funded projects at Moscow State University and serves as the WRRC's vice president for expansion and marketing
'Putin does not have a (male) heir - at least officially - but he has two daughters, and one of them, Ekaterina, has already entered the public space with several huge and costly projects,' she wrote for Radio Svoboda website.
'In 2024, Ekaterina will be 38. In theory, she can take part in the presidential elections and provide a calm time in old age for her father and his closest friends.'
Putin has said previously of his daughters from his marriage to ex-wife Lyudmila: 'They are taking the first steps in their careers, but are making good progress. They are not involved in business or politics.
'They have never been "star" children, they have never got pleasure from the spotlight being directed on them. They just live their own lives.
'They live in Russia ... They have never been educated anywhere except Russia.
'I am proud of them, they continue to study and are working. My daughters speak three European languages fluently.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10656747/Russias-youngest-billionaire-Putins-playboy-former-son-law-triggers-scandal-sanctions.html
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