Fathers and sons

Patrushev's son became deputy prime minister, Kovalchuk's son became head of the Accounts Chamber. Who employs the heirs of Putin's elite

By the beginning of Vladimir Putin's fifth term, it had become obvious that his inner circle had aged and was now handing over power to their heirs. They are still keeping a low profile, but they are already occupying important roles in business and politics: just look at the promotion of Dmitry Patrushev, the son of former FSB director and former head of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, from the post of Minister of Agriculture to the post of Deputy Prime Minister in the new government of Mikhail Mishustin. Novaya Gazeta Evropa has figured out where else the heirs of Putin's elite have found employment.

Father: Nikolai Patrushev, 72. Former director of the FSB (1999–2008), former head of the Security Council of the Russian Federation (2008–2024), aide to the President of the Russian Federation .

Children: Dmitry Patrushev, 46 years old. Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation ,

Andrey Patrushev, 42 years old. Co-owner of Transtelesoft

The children of the Russian elite have two career paths: to go into politics or to go into business. The sons of the former head of the Security Council, and since May 2024, presidential aide Nikolai Patrushev, have chosen both.

Nikolai Patrushev's eldest son Dmitry is forty-six years old. Since 2018, he has served as the Minister of Agriculture of Russia, being one of the richest officials in the country. In 2022, Patrushev Jr. declared an income of 121 million rubles.

Dmitry Patrushev came to the ministry after working in the management of Russian state corporations - VTB, Rosselkhozbank and Gazprom. The news of the appointment of Patrushev Jr. as minister at the time surprised the industry business and journalists. But representatives of the agricultural business loved him - for his generous state subsidies for the development of agriculture.

The official can be congratulated on his promotion - in the new government of Mikhail Mishustin, approved by the State Duma on May 13, Dmitry Patrushev will take the position of one of ten deputy prime ministers. In it, he will oversee not only agriculture, but also the national project "Ecology".

Nikolai Patrushev's youngest son, Andrei, was born in 1981. He graduated from the FSB Academy, then the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the early 2000s, Andrei Patrushev worked for three years in the FSB department overseeing industry. Then he moved to the oil and gas sector: for two years he was an advisor to the chairman of the board of directors of Rosneft, Igor Sechin, then held senior positions in subsidiaries of Rosneft and Gazprom. Gazprom Neft even created a new management position specifically for him.

In 2019, Andrey Patrushev went into business. He owns a large stake in Transtelesoft, a company that develops security and control systems for trains. He also participates in projects to explore the sea shelf. In 2020, Patrushev became the owner of 10% of the shares of Arkhangelsk Commercial Sea Port LLC. The port's revenue for 2020 amounted to more than 1.5 billion rubles.

Father: Mikhail Fradkov, 73, former Prime Minister (2004–2007), Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC Almaz-Antey Air Defense Concern ,

Children: Petr Fradkov, 46, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Promsvyazbank ,

Pavel Fradkov, 42, Deputy Head of the Presidential Property Management Department

Mikhail Fradkov, former prime minister and current top manager of the Almaz-Antey concern, has two sons. The eldest, Pyotr, is forty-six years old. Since 2018, he has headed Promsvyazbank. Pyotr Fradkov graduated from MGIMO, the business school of Kingston University in London, and RANEPA. Fradkov Jr. began his career at the age of 22, immediately as deputy representative of Vnesheconombank in the United States.

In 2004, Mikhail Fradkov headed the government, and Petr became deputy general director of the Far Eastern Shipping Company. After a year of work in Vladivostok, he moved to the management of Vnesheconombank. In 2007, his father was appointed head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, and Petr joined the bank's board. He left VEB in 2016, just after Fradkov Sr. left his job in foreign intelligence.

Pyotr Fradkov's next career point was the management of Promsvyazbank. He joined in 2017. Coincidentally, it was with the arrival of Fradkov Jr. that Promsvyazbank began to regularly service large government orders and defense contracts. Vedomosti's sources noted at the time that "thanks to family ties" Pyotr Fradkov is trusted at the highest level.

The career of Pavel, Mikhail Fradkov's youngest son, was no worse. In 1995, Pavel entered the Suvorov Military School in St. Petersburg. Coincidentally, Fradkov Sr. met Vladimir Putin when he came to St. Petersburg to visit his youngest son. Putin was then the city's vice-mayor.

After studying at the military school, Pavel entered the FSB Academy, and then the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the faculty of world economy. Incidentally, the above-mentioned Andrei Patrushev also studied at these academies. At 23, Pavel Fradkov received a position in one of the departments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His department was responsible for relations with the G8 countries and the European Union and was considered the most prestigious in the ministry. Then Pavel was appointed to the position of deputy head of the Federal Agency for State Property Management. Since 2015, Fradkov Jr. has been deputy head of the Presidential Property Management Department.

Father: Sergei Ivanov, 71, special representative of the president for environmental protection, ecology and transport ,

Son: Sergei Ivanov Jr., 43, former president of the Alrosa group of companies

In 2012, Pyotr Fradkov was removed from the VEB board, and his place was taken by Alexander Ivanov, the eldest son of Sergei Ivanov, who was then the head of the presidential administration. Two years later, Alexander Ivanov drowned while on vacation in the United Arab Emirates; he was 37 years old.

Ivanov's youngest son, Sergei, graduated from the faculty of international economic relations at MGIMO in 2002. Like many other heirs to the Russian leadership, he quickly moved into management positions. At the age of 25, Sergei Sergeevich became vice president of Gazprombank. By that time, he had already worked at Gazprom as an expert and advisor to the chairman of the board. Ivanov Jr.'s resume also includes the positions of chairman of the board of the insurance company Sogaz, senior vice president of Sberbank, and chairman of the board of directors of the non-governmental pension fund Sberbank.

In 2017, Sergei Ivanov was appointed president of Alrosa. The company is considered the world's largest diamond miner. In Russia alone, Alrosa produces 95% of all diamonds. In 2018, Sergei Ivanov was ranked 19th in the Forbes magazine "CEO Capitalist" rating. The value of his shares in the diamond mining company at that time was almost $4.5 million.

Ivanov Jr. served as president of Alrosa for six years, until 2023. Since January 1, 2024, the company has been included in the sanctions list of the European Union. But the businessman explained his departure by the opening of a "window of opportunity." Ivanov said that he was going to engage in "high-tech projects."

Father: Evgeny Murov, 78, former director of the FSO (2000–2016)

Son: Andrey Murov, 54, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rosseti FGC UES

Andrei Murov, the middle son of the former head of the Federal Security Service of Russia, Yevgeny Murov, began his career back in the 1990s. At that time, his father held senior positions in the St. Petersburg FSB department, where he met Vladimir Putin.

In 1993, Andrei Murov graduated from the law faculty of St. Petersburg State University, got a job at the city bar association and worked in commercial structures. By 2004, Murov Jr. became deputy general director of Pulkovo Airport, and a year later he headed it, despite the lack (at that time) of a specialized education.

In 2012, Murov entered the energy business, taking the post of executive director of the MRSK holding, which later became part of the federal grid company Rosseti. In 2020, Andrey Murov took the position of chairman of the board of directors of Rosseti, which controls the transmission of 80% of all electricity generated in the country.

Mother: Valentina Matvienko, 75, Speaker of the Federation Council ,

Son: Sergey Matvienko, 50, entrepreneur

Unlike many other children of the Russian elite, Sergei Matvienko, the son of the former governor of St. Petersburg and current speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko, chose a career in private business. However, it was also quite successful. In 2009, the newspaper Delovoy Peterburg called Matvienko Jr. a dollar billionaire. He was 36 years old at the time.

In the 2000s, when his mother was in charge of St. Petersburg, Sergei held senior positions at Bank Saint Petersburg and the St. Petersburg branch of VTB. In 2013, Sergei Matvienko left the banking sector and went into real estate. His company, Aksioma, owns historic mansions in the center of St. Petersburg and several construction companies. Matvienko Jr. regularly receives important government contracts. For example, in 2018, his company, Parametr, was engaged in the repair and restoration of sewer networks in Moscow. And in 2020, Matvienko became a co-owner of InfoMechanics, a contractor for Gazprom structures in the field of information infrastructure of enterprises and engineering systems.

Parents: Yuri Kovalchuk, 72, co-owner of the National Media Group and the insurance company SOGAZ; Mikhail Kovalchuk, 77, president of the Kurchatov Institute

Children: Boris Kovalchuk, 46, head of the Accounts Chamber , Kirill Kovalchuk, 55, chairman of the board of directors of the National Media Group ,

Grandson: Stepan Kovalchuk, 31 years old, vice president of VK

Brothers Mikhail and Yuri Kovalchuk are considered not only close friends of the president, but also people who seriously influence his political views. Yuri Kovalchuk, one of the co-founders of the Ozero cooperative, currently owns the National Media Group. It owns shares in REN TV, Channel One, Channel Five and other media assets. Mikhail Kovalchuk is the president of the Kurchatov Institute, which specializes in nuclear physics. The center is directly subordinate to the Russian government and is not part of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Yuri Kovalchuk's son Boris is now 46 years old. In 1999, he graduated from the law faculty of St. Petersburg State University, where one of his teachers was the current deputy chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev. In 2006, Boris Kovalchuk became an assistant to his former teacher, who was already the first deputy prime minister of Russia at that time, and then headed the department of priority national projects of the government.

In 2009, Boris Kovalchuk moved to the energy sector. First, he became a top manager at Rosatom, then chairman of the board of PJSC Inter RAO, one of Russia's largest public electric power companies, with a capitalization of almost half a trillion rubles. Boris Kovalchuk was in the management of Inter RAO until the spring of this year. In March, he was appointed deputy head of the control department of the Presidential Administration of Russia, and recently, after the re-election of the government, head of the Accounts Chamber.

Mikhail Kovalchuk's son Kirill currently holds the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Media Group. However, the fate of the billionaire's grandson, 31-year-old Stepan Kovalchuk, is much more interesting. Last September, he headed the content business group VK, which includes VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, as well as the platforms Zen, VK Video, VK Music, VK Clips, and VK Messenger.

At the same time, Stepan Kovalchuk held the position of VK vice president for business development since 2018, engaged, as journalistsfound out , in preparing the social network for the planned blocking of YouTube. Stepan's boss in the last few years was another "crown prince", the son of the first deputy head of the presidential administration, Vladimir Kiriyenko. He has held the post of CEO of VK since the end of 2021.

According to The Bell journalists, the balance of power in the corporation may change. Kiriyenko Jr. is expected to resign soon - in this case, Stepan Kovalchuk, with whom he allegedly had an open conflict, may take his place.

Father: Anatoly Turchak, 78 years old, director of the Leninets holding company ,

Son: Andrei Turchak, 48, former governor of the Pskov region (2009–2017), first deputy chairman of the Federation Council

Secretary of the General Council of United Russia and Vice Speaker of the Federation Council Andrei Turchak also continues the dynasty. His father, Anatoly Turchak, headed the Leninets defense holding in St. Petersburg since the 1980s. In his youth, he practiced judo in the same club as Vladimir Putin.

In the 1990s and the first half of the 2000s, Andrei Turchak was in business with his father and worked in the subsidiaries of his holding. But already in 2005, he joined United Russia, where he headed a special commission on youth policy.

In 2009, Turchak Jr. was appointed acting governor of the Pskov region. After he was finally confirmed in the post by the Pskov regional assembly, 33-year-old Andrei Turchak became one of the youngest governors in the history of post-Soviet Russia. During his eight years in charge, the Pskov region repeatedly found itself among the poorest regions in the country.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Andrey Turchak has been actively involved in the work of United Russia in the occupied territories. In this regard, the media periodically speculate that he may replace Alexander Beglov as governor of St. Petersburg.

Father: Ramzan Kadyrov, 47, head of the Chechen Republic ,

Children: Ayshat Kadyrova, 25, Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya for Social Affairs , Khadizhat Kadyrova, 24, First Deputy Head of the Administration of the Head and Government of Chechnya , Akhmat Kadyrov, 18, Minister of the Chechen Republic for Youth Affairs , Adam Kadyrov, 16, Head of the Security Department of the Head of the Republic

The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, took over his post from his father, Akhmat Kadyrov. He began to de facto rule the region in 2004, immediately after the death of Kadyrov Sr. At that time, Ramzan was only 28 years old. Novaya Evropa was able to establish that since 2019, Kadyrov has been seriously ill and the Kremlin is developing a scenario in the event of a forced change of power in Chechnya.

Kadyrov's sons Adam and Akhmat are unlikely to take his place due to their young age. Although youth and inexperience do not prevent the heirs of the head of Chechnya from participating in the leadership of the republic. The eldest, Akhmat, turned 18 last fall, and he already holds the post of Minister of the Chechen Republic for Youth Affairs. Adam became the head of the department for ensuring the security of the head of the republic at only fifteen. This year, Adam was also appointed curator of the Russian Special Forces University named after Vladimir Putin.

Khadizhat Kadyrova recently received the post of first deputy head of the administration of the head and government of Chechnya. She turned 24 in January. Her older sister Ayshat took the post of deputy prime minister of Chechnya for social issues last year. She is now 25.

Mother: Elena Mizulina, 69, member of the Federation Council (2015–2023) , Daughter: Ekaterina Mizulina, 39, head of the Safe Internet League

The star of the Russian Internet and the main moral tuning fork of Russian youth policy, Ekaterina Mizulina, worthily continues the political path of her mother. Former senator Elena Mizulina once became famous for her prohibitive initiatives in the name of protecting children. For example, the law on blocking websites that contain information about methods of committing suicide and drug use. Later, it was used to put pressure on the media.

Elena Mizulina's daughter has also built a career on caring for children. In late 2017, she headed the "Safe Internet League." The organization is supposed to save children on the Internet, but is more famous for its fight against Russian musicians.

Father: Vladimir Putin, 71, President of the Russian Federation ,

Children: Maria Vorontsova, 38, co-owner of the New Medical Company ,

Katerina Tikhonova, 37, head of research and development at Innopraktika

Vladimir Putin supposedly has three daughters: Maria Vorontsova, Ekaterina Tikhonova and Luiza Rozova. While we don't know much about the youngest daughter Luiza (she has only managed to become famous as a DJ so far), the older ones have long held prestigious positions. However, the president himself has never confirmed his relationship with them and prefers to call them simply "these women."

Maria Vorontsova is 38 years old. She is an endocrinologist by education and is involved in the medical business. The latter, according to FBK, brings her hundreds of millions of rubles a year. Since 2012, Vorontsova has been the owner of 20% of the shares of the New Medical Company (abbreviated as Nomeko), registered in St. Petersburg.

According to the Nomeko website, the company's goal is to introduce new diagnostic and treatment methods. It's not easy to say what exactly Nomeko does — the site mainly publishes scientific news and holiday greetings. Nevertheless, the company's net profit last year was 855 million rubles. Vorontsova herself received 232 million rubles in dividends in 2020, although her salary at that time was only 700 thousand rubles a month.

Vorontsova rarely appears in the end of last year, she gave a large interview to the Russian ponder #in it. The fact that Maria Vorontsova can soon take the post of Minister of Health.

The other Daughter of Vladimir Tikhonov is 37 years old, she is most known for the leadership of the Innoproctic Foundation. The noological valley was then estimated at 110 billion rubles.

Innopractics is not only science. Last year, the Fund has acquired a share of the Geoscanic drone manufacturer under the sanctions of Ukraine due to work with military and double goods.

After the start of the war, the coordinating council of import substitution at the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs was appointed to the position of coordinating the Coordinating Council.