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Putin’s Grandson Banned From Using Name Over Ironic Twist
The Daily Beast • • world
Key Points:
- Vladimir Putin’s grandson, born in August 2025 to his daughter Katerina Tikhonova and ballet dancer Igor Zelensky, was given the name Adrian Tikhonov, adopting his mother’s surname instead of his father’s.
- The choice to use the surname Tikhonov was reportedly to avoid association with Igor Zelensky’s last name, which coincides with that of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Putin’s arch-enemy.
- Adrian’s birth registration took an unusually long 11 months and was issued by Moscow’s Central Clinical Hospital, also known as the “Kremlin Clinic.”
- Katerina Tikhonova, who is involved in Russian AI and drone projects, previously had a daughter, Elsa, with Igor Zelensky; Elsa initially bore her father’s surname but is now believed to use Tikhonova.
- Putin’s family remains highly private, with his other daughter Maria Vorontsova and rumored partner Alina Kabaeva also having children, but details about them remain scarce.
