Putin's granddaughter travels abroad accompanied by a 10-person entourage, according to an investigation

Elsa Tikhonova, the daughter of Katerina Tikhonova and granddaughter of Vladimir Putin, has traveled to Western countries several times on private jets, accompanied by a large entourage. Her entourage included at least four nannies, two foreign language teachers, her mother’s assistant, and FST employees.

Journalists note that, based on the data they have obtained, they plan to publish a comprehensive investigation titled “Travel Companions” next week. 

It will detail where, with whom, and by what means Russian officials and members of the elite travel.

In late 2019 and early 2020, Katerina Tikhonova and ballet master Igor Zelensky took Elsa to Munich for about two months.

According to investigators, the family traveled by private jet accompanied by a large group of people. Among them were nannies Anna Tabankova, Natalia Snytko, Natalia Letnikova, and Lyudmila Arkhitskaya.

Also traveling with the family were English teacher Yulia Zhirnova, French and Arabic teacher Mohammed Benkhelifa, and Viroyatna Kuts.

In addition, Svitlana Skrypak took part in the trip. As “Proekt” notes, her biography does not make it possible to determine exactly what role she played during the trip.

At the same time, journalists point out that such a large number of accompanying individuals traveled with Elsa at a time when the child was about two years old.

According to the investigation, two years later, Kateryna Tykhonova, Ihor Zelenskyy, and Elsa went on a week-long trip to Croatia.

This time, no nannies or teachers traveled with the child. Instead, the family was accompanied by four FST employees.

Also flying with them was Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and a close associate of Vladimir Putin.

His wife, Natalia Popova, as journalists note, is a colleague, friend, and frequent companion of Katerina Tikhonova.

A Bombardier Global 5000 was used for the trip. According to “The Project,” the plane belongs to an offshore company linked to Russian oligarch Alexei Repik.

Elsa Tikhonova was born in 2017 during Katerina Tikhonova’s second marriage.

Tikhonova’s first husband was Kirill Shamalov, the son of Nikolai Shamalov, who is said to be a friend of Vladimir Putin through the “Ozero” cooperative.

Katerina Tikhonova and Kirill Shamalov later separated, after which she began a relationship with ballet choreographer Igor Zelensky.

“Proekt” promises to reveal further details about overseas trips on private jets taken by Vladimir Putin’s family and members of the Russian elite in its investigation “Travel Companions.”

This is detailed in an investigation by “Proekt,” whose authors analyzed a publicly available database from Russia’s Federal Border Service.

Katerina Tikhonova, who is said to be the youngest of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official daughters, and ballet master Igor Zelensky have an eight-year-old daughter named Elsa. The girl was born in December 2017 and took her mother’s last name.