Journalists identify Vladimir Putin’s 8-year-old granddaughter through leaked border data

Russian journalists have identified an 8-year-old girl named Elza Tikhonova as the granddaughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to leaked border service data, reported Agentstvo on September 25. Born in December 2017, Elza is the daughter of Katerina Tikhonova, head of the Innopraktika Foundation, and choreographer Igor Zelensky.

The girl first left Russia shortly before her second birthday in November 2019, traveling to Munich for two months while her father was working there. Two years later, she traveled to Croatia. The girl's name in the border service database is Elsa Igorevna Tikhonova, using her mother's surname while retaining a patronymic derived from her father's name.

Russian media speculate that Putin's granddaughter may have been named after a character from the animated film "Frozen," as Tikhonova is known for her interest in Hollywood films. Putin maintains strict privacy regarding his family, and family members reportedly use different surnames. Katerina Tikhonova is the younger of Putin's two publicly known daughters, married to Kirill Shamalov in 2013.

Putin has two daughters with his ex-wife Lyudmila, Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, and two sons with Alina Kabaeva, Ivan and Vladimir Spiridonov. Putin is also reportedly the grandfather of Roman Faassen, son of Katerina and her first husband Jorrit Faassen.