Putin’s Playboy model ‘goddaughter’ is ‘ditching repressive Russia for Spain’

Ksenia Sobchak, a Russian celebrity and politician, is understood to be looking to move to Spain as she bids to escape Vladimir Putin’s repressive regime

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Vladimir Putin’s ‘goddaughter’ is seeking to leave his repressive Russia^[1] and is claimed to have applied for residency in Spain.

Ksenia Sobchak, a TV presenter, politician and influencer, who once posed for Playboy, is seeking digital nomad status which means she must live in Spain for more than half of every year and pay taxes in the country. The 43-year-old, who once stood against Putin^[2] for the Russian presidency and runs her own media outlet, has not commented.

Reports in Spain say the socialite has applied for a residence permit for herself and her son Platon, eight, with whispers she has already bought a luxury home. This comes amid looming economic chaos in Russia, caused by Putin’s war and Western sanctions, but also as repression against criticism of the dictator is tightened.

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Sobchak already has a five year EU Schengen visa from France, and an Israeli^[5] as well as Russian passport which enables her to travel freely in Europe for a maximum of 90 days in every six months. Putin attended her childhood Orthodox christening before he became Russia’s president – leading to reports that he was her godfather.

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He was close to her late father Anatoly who acted as mentor to the former KGB spy, giving him his first job in politics when he was mayor of St Petersburg. While Sobchak is seen as pro-opposition, many Putin foes are suspicious of her stance believing she has remained personally close to the dictator.

In 2018 when she stood for the presidency she was criticised as doing so show there was a pro-liberal candidate in Putin’s rigged election. Her participation was called a “farce”.

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In 2023, she attended a “naked party” with other celebrities which outraged Putin and was forced to issue an abject apology. But unlike other participants she was not punished.

Sobchak’s mother Lyudmila Narusova, 74, is a Russian senator who often votes alone against Putin’s repressive measures. Two years ago she questioned Putin’s sanity over the war, and warned he would not hand over power.

“I’m the only one who votes [against him],” she told Novaya Gazeta Europe independent newspaper. “But there are enough people who think the same as me. It’s just that they are afraid to speak it out loud.”