Alina Kabaeva

Britain’s new sanctions against Russia were announced today. They deal with asset freezes, a ban on visiting the country, and transportation restrictions. According to the British press, the new personal sanctions package targets people from Vladimir Putin’s “close circle”. There are 12 names on the list.

Among them is the name of Alina Kabaeva: the British government claims that the Olympic champion has a “close personal relationship” with the Russian president, it is also stated that she is a former State Duma deputy and heads the board of the National Council. Media Group is the country’s largest private media organization. Kabaeva’s grandmother, Anna Zatsepilina, is also on the sanctioned list.

The list of sanctions also includes cousins ​​of the president – businessmen Igor Putin (director of Pechenga port), Roman Putin (head of Putin Consulting company), Mikhail Shelomov (shareholder of Rossiya Bank), cousin-nephew of Russian leader Mikhail Putin (“SOGAZ” and Deputy chairman of the board of directors of the insurance company “Gazprom”).

Lyudmila Ocheretnaya, the ex-wife of Vladimir Putin, with whom the politician was married from 1983 to 2014, did not escape the sanctions.

Vladimir and Lyudmila Putin, 2006

Also on the list was Yuri Shamalov, the brother of Putin’s supposed ex-son-in-law. Earlier, it was reported that the French villa of Kirill Shamalov himself was arrested (he was married about Katerina Tikhonova in the press called her daughter President).

Other “Putin’s relatives” named on the new sanctions list include businessmen Alexander Plekhov, Mikhail Klishin, Vladimir Kolbin and Viktor Khmarin.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss described the purpose of the sanctions package as the British government’s intention to “reveal the shadow web that supports Putin’s luxurious lifestyle”.

The UK has so far imposed sanctions on more than 1000 natural and 100 legal persons in connection with Russia’s special operation in Ukraine.