Her Dad Is Putin's Press Chief and She Says Sanctions Against Her Are 'Totally Unfair and Unfounded'
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Elizaveta Peskova/Instagram
The 24-year-old daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin's press secretary said in a recent interview that sanctions imposed on her are "totally unfair and unfounded." But the U.S. calls her father is a "top purveyor" of Russian propaganda who lies to justify the country's invasion of Ukraine — while she profits from a Kremlin connection and lives a life of jet-setting luxury.
Elizaveta Dmitriyevna Peskova struts across red carpets in gorgeous gowns, flips her hair, poses to Kylie Minogue tunes and snuggles with her dad, Dmitry Peskov, in various posts on Instagram, where she has more than 250,000 followers.
"I completely understand that I have more opportunities than others because of course I don't come from just a simple family," Peskova told Insider in an interview from Moscow, published Friday. "But, you know, without a brain you cannot transform these possibilities into something."
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Peskova is the founder of a communications firm, director of a historical foundation and studied international relations, according to Insider. Her father has been Putin's spokesman for more than two decades and contributes, according to the U.S. State Department, to "Russia's global disinformation and destabilizing influence campaign, including in Ukraine."
A week after the U.S. announced its sanctions against Peskov on March 3, his wife, Tatiana Aleksandrovna Navka, son Nikolay Peskov and daughter were also targeted.
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Elizaveta Peskova/Instagram
"For me, it's totally unfair and unfounded," Peskova told Insider. "I was really surprised because it's weird introducing sanctions [on] someone who is 24 years old and has nothing to do with the situation."
Though she didn't want to talk about politics in the interview, Peskova did post an anti-war message on Instagram on Feb. 25, before deleting it, Insider reported.
"When I say it, I mean that I am for peace, not only in Ukraine but all around the world," Peskova told the site last week, adding that she won't discuss "the situation going on."
"I can only speak about the sanctions and I can only say what I feel and what I think about the sanctions," she said.
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Russia has banned Instagram and made it illegal to protest the country's war in Ukraine under laws that prohibit "public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation" and carry a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
Elizaveta Peskova/Instagram
Though she has a "very deep connection with my father" and recalled visiting Times Square on a trip to New York City with her him when she was 9, Peskova said she believes she shouldn't be punished for his job and Russia's war on Ukraine, according to Insider, where hundreds of civilians have died and millions have been made refugees.
"I would like to travel, and I love different cultures," Peskova said, adding, "I am a citizen of the world, and I can't do anything about it."
Despite restrictions on her travel and her country's isolation in global trade and world financial system, Peskova claimed sanctions against Russian elites won't have a financial impact.
Elizaveta Peskova/Instagram
"It's a very big delusion," Peskova said. "Western countries just do not understand how the Russian system works."
As the war continues, Peskova acknowledged that refusing to speak about it — amid daily images and reports of devastation in Ukraine — might make it hard for people to feel any sympathy for a young woman Insider describes as a "socialite" with close connections to Putin.
"I don't want my words twisted and I don't trust anyone," Peskova said. "I just don't want to talk about it now. Like maybe in a week or in two weeks. Because I'm also shocked. I'm also very upset. And I'm also, like, maybe it's not the right time to talk about it?"
