Putin appoints his niece, billionaire Anna Tsivileva, Deputy Defense Minister

Putin's niece Anna Tsivileva has been appointed as Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, as stated in the official decree published on Russia's legal acts portal. Pavel Fradkov, the youngest son of Mikhail Fradkov, Director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies and former Prime Minister and chief of foreign intelligence, has also been appointed as Deputy Minister of Defense.

Anna Tsivileva is married to Sergey Tsivilyev, Russia's Minister of Energy, who assumed office in May after leading the Kemerovo Region. Tsivileva, formerly Anna Putina, has been previously reported by Agentstvo to be President Putin's second cousin.

Tsivileva owns a major coal company named Kolmar. In August 2022, her coal enterprise relocated from Switzerland to Dubai to circumvent the embargo on Russian coal. Additionally, the family owns a tourism venture at the Sheregesh ski resort, managed by Tsivileva's son from her previous marriage, who is also a relative of Putin.

Tsivileva heads the Defenders of the Fatherland foundation, established by Putin, which supports soldiers in the so-called “Special Military Operation” (a euphemism used by the Russian state to refer to its invasion of Ukraine). During a live broadcast in December 2023, Putin praised Tsivileva, mentioning that citizens had donated over 10 billion rubles ($112 million) to the foundation for military purposes.