Putin’s ‘secret’ daughter manages Paris galleries showcasing anti-war art, Russian artist reveals
Elizaveta Krivonogikh, the alleged daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, works as a manager at two Paris art galleries known for exhibiting anti-war art, Russian artist Nastya Rodionova reported on Thursday. A Moscow-born writer and artist, Rodionova fled to France and received political asylum in 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Writing on Facebook, Rodionova said that she’d heard “a rumor” about Krivonogikh working at Studio Albatros and L Galerie, two Paris art galleries run by the L Association where both anti-war Russian and Ukrainian artists have exhibited their work. According to Rodionova, one of her artist friends confirmed that she knew the manager of these spaces, a young woman named “Liza” (a shortened form of Elizaveta), whose description matched that of Krivonogikh.
The Russian president’s alleged “secret daughter” was revealed by the independent media outlet Proekt in 2020, as part of an investigation into the wealth of Svetlana Krivonogikh, a Russian millionaire who allegedly owes her fortune to a romantic relationship with Putin. Proekt also claimed that Krivonogikh’s daughter, born in 2003, bears an “uncanny resemblance” to Putin, sparking speculation that she and the Russian president have a child.
Putin’s alleged daughter was later identified as “Luiza Rozova.” However, the Kremlin dismissed the rumors as “unfounded and unconvincing.”
Luiza Rozova later publicly engaged with Andrey Zakharov, one of the journalists behind the Proekt investigation, and granted an interview to GQ Russia, posing for several photos that hid her face. When GQ’s reporter asked if she thinks she resembles Russia’s president, Rozova replied that “there are a lot of people who look like Mr. Putin.”
In her Facebook post, Rodionova said that she met with the L Association’s president, Dmitri Dolinski, to confront him about the manager named Liza. According to Rodionova, Dolinski — who maintained that he doesn’t ask his employees about their parentage and that “children are not responsible for their parents” — told her that Liza’s last name is “Rudnova.”
Ukrainian media connected the name “Elizaveta Rudnova” to Krivonogikh in November 2024, reporting that she was studying in the arts and cultural management faculty at ICART, a private university in Paris, under this new name. The Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo (a media outlet connected to Proekt) later corroborated this information, obtaining records for plane tickets issued to an “Elizaveta Olegovna Rudnova” who shares the same birthdate as Krivonogikh.
Agentstvo also reported that Krivonogikh’s new name was derived from that of businessman Oleg Rudnov, a childhood friend of Vladimir Putin who died in 2015. In its 2020 investigation into Svetlana Krivonogikh, Proekt connected her to real estate purchased under Rudnov’s name.
The U.K. imposed sanctions on Svetlana Krivonogikh in 2023, identifying her as “a shareholder in Bank Rossiya and the National Media Group, that consistently promotes the Russian assault in Ukraine.”
Liza Rudnova is indeed Svetlana Krivonogikh’s daughter, Dolinski later confirmed to Meduza. He also acknowledged that she “really does resemble Putin’s daughter,” whose photos have been published in the past. According to Dolinski, Rudnova is a student in Paris and is doing an internship as part of her academic program. A source close to the Russian-speaking cultural community in Paris told Meduza that other students from the same university — those a few years ahead of Rudnova — had also helped organize exhibitions at L Galerie.
Rodionova told Meduza that she decided to publish the post about Rudnova and her place of work because she believes “Parisian artists need to know about this and make their own decision [about whether to exhibit at L Galerie].” She added that while Rudnova’s family ties to Putin haven’t been officially confirmed, her mother holds shares in major Russian companies and is under British sanctions.
“This rumor [that Rudnova works at the gallery] struck me as completely inconceivable,” Rodionova said. “I had been planning to show my work [at L Galerie and Studio Albatros], but I wouldn’t have agreed to it if I had known they were, even indirectly, linked to the family of someone who profits from the regime. That kind of information puts us [artists] in a vulnerable position, and I think staying silent about it is irresponsible.”
In her Facebook post, Rodionova noted that “Luiza Rozova” stopped actively posting on social media following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. She also pointed out that Rozova posted the anti-war slogan “No War” on her Instagram page in March 2022, having previously praised Putin as a “wonderful president” on TikTok. (In turn, Andrey Zakharov commented that he believes several “Luiza Rozova” social media accounts to be fake.)
In her Facebook post, Rodionova said that while “children are not responsible for the crimes of their parents,” she believes that anti-war Russian and Ukrainian artists have a right to know who they are working with. “In the midst of a war, a collision between a person from a family of beneficiaries of the regime and its victims is unacceptable.” she wrote. “Did Liza understand this at 22, or does the responsibility lie with those around her?”
“My position is that in the situation of Russia’s ongoing war of conquest, maximum transparency and heightened sensitivity is required of people who organize any public events involving anti-war artists and sometimes even direct victims of the regime. We should know who we are working with and decide whether we’re willing to do so. My personal answer in this case is no.”
In response to comments on her post, Rodionova said that she had seen Liza Rudnova in person, but did not speak to her.
Both galleries are seen as “unquestionably important spaces” for the Russian-speaking cultural scene in France, Rodionova told Meduza. She said nearly all the projects they host “communicate an anti-war message.” Both venues have exhibited work by Russian and Ukrainian artists.
“They show every kind of Russian artist without exception — from painters of church landscapes to radical contemporary works,” said a source familiar with the artists who have exhibited at the galleries.
“We have a very clear line, and we stick to it,” Dolinski told Meduza. “Our position is made quite plain by the fact that over the past two years, we’ve held about 200 exhibitions — half of them with [Russian] artists in exile.”
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Two sources connected to Paris’s art community told Meduza that it’s “common knowledge” that Svetlana Krivonogikh’s daughter studied at ICART and “is active in the art scene.” “Most people know there is such a Liza, but no one really makes a big deal out of it,” one source said.
Dmitri Dolinski said rumors that Krivonogikh’s daughter had begun a career in the Paris art world started circulating among artists about “six or seven months ago.” When he hired Rudnova in October 2024, he said he “didn’t think much of it.”
“I believe children aren’t responsible for their parents. Even if we hypothetically assume [that Elizaveta really is Putin’s daughter], although there’s no actual proof, then what — are we supposed to execute them all, like the Romanovs [Russia’s last imperial family]? Was I supposed to tell her, ‘Because of who your mother is, I can’t hire you’? We don’t hire people’s mothers,” Dolinski said. He added that he could face legal problems as an employer for denying someone a job on those grounds.
According to Meduza’s sources, members of the Paris art community describe Rudnova as “a well-mannered person,” “a great coworker,” and “a capable young woman.” Dolinski said he has “no concerns” about her performance as an employee.
He also said he sees no ethical issue with her working at the gallery. Rudnova hasn’t lived in Russia for several years, he noted, and none of the artists he works with had any reason to believe she “somehow supports the Russian government or the war.”
“She lived with her mother and doesn’t know her father,” he said. In his conversation with Meduza, Dolinski also noted that, before Rodionova’s post, none of the artists who had worked with L Galerie had raised any questions about Rudnova’s family background.
Meduza was unable to reach Elizaveta Rudnova for comment.
Фото на обложке: luizaroz_/Instagram