Anton Shekhovtsov

Putin’s daughter, Katerina Tikhonova, is rumoured to be under consideration as a potential successor to her father as Russia’s leader. This idea is presumably being pushed by the Kovalchuk brothers, who are close to Putin. 1/5

I still don’t really see Putin vacating his position before his physical demise – although, of course, he could remain the major power broker behind whoever he selects to succeed him. 2/5

However, I’m curious about a different issue. 3/5

We don’t have many cases to analyse, but still: the presidencies of both Putin and Dmitry Medvedev began with a kind of blood sacrifice. For Putin, it was the 1999 apartment bombings; for Medvedev, the 2008 invasion of Georgia. 4/5

The rumours about Tikhonova succeeding her father refer to the period starting from 2026. I wonder what initiation ritual she will be subjected to, to prove her worth as Russia’s leader. 5/5