Hundreds of Russian socialites made their debut at the 18th Vienna Charity Ball in Moscow on Saturday.
The young debutantes, aged 16-23, wore stunning white gowns and tiaras at the traditional event held in the largest ballroom in Moscow – Gostiny Dvor – and were paired with a bachelor to dance the night away.
The event has been known to feature the daughters of many of the Kremlin’s ultra-rich elite including in 2015, Yelizaveta Peskova, daughter of Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov; in 2018, Leonela Manturova, daughter of the minister of industry and trade, Denis Manturov.
Hundreds of Russian socialites made their debut at the 18th Vienna Charity Ball in Moscow at Gostiny Dvor on Saturday
The young debutants, aged 16-23, wore stunning white gowns at the traditional event held in the largest ballroom in Moscow – and were paired with a bachelor to dance the night away
This year’s young women join a host of Kremlin ultra-rich elite, including Yelizaveta Peskova, daughter of Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who have debuted at the prestigious event in the past
Saturday’s charity event, which sees young women don white dresses and tiaras, was due to take place last year but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic
Each debutante – male and female – is put through a rigorous selection process involving tests on their education, knowledge of foreign languages, manners, and of course, looks
The lucky 100 are then put through their paces with dance classes in the run up to the big day, when the women wear white gowns and the men don either full-length tails or military uniforms
The ball also featured Anastasia Chernomyrdina, granddaughter of a former prime minister, Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin, in 2019.
Among this year’s attendees were Svetlana Gerchet, Elizaveta Kondrikova, and Leonida Malitskaya.
Saturday’s charity event, which was dedicated to the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven, was due to take place last year but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It usually attracts over 2,000 guests from across the world but this year was scaled back to 1,500.
Each debutante – male and female – is put through a rigorous selection process involving tests on their education, knowledge of foreign languages, manners, and looks.
The lucky 100 are then put through their paces with dance classes in the run up to the big day, when the women wear white gowns and the men don either full-length tails or military uniforms.
Debutants open the ball with a waltz and are then joined by guests who dance polkas, gallops, and waltzes until midnight.
After the clock strikes twelve, attendees perform the famous Russian midnight quadrille followed by tango, foxtrot, jive, quick-step, cha-cha-cha, and rumba into the small hours. Tickets cost up to £500 and proceeds are donated to a chosen charity.
The event, organised by Tatler, is an opportunity for the new generation of elite offspring to follow in their fathers footsteps and take their place in society.
Debutants open the ball with a waltz and are then joined by guests who dance polkas, gallops, and waltzes until midnight
After the clock strikes twelve, attendees perform the famous Russian midnight quadrille – a dance that was fashionable in late 18th- and 19th-century Europe. It is followed by tango, foxtrot, jive, quick-step, cha-cha-cha, and rumba into the small hours
The event, which is the highlight of the calendar for young debutants, usually attracts over 2,000 guests, but was this year scaled back to 1,500 because of the Covid-19 pandemic
Tickets for the prestigious night cost up to £500 and debutants are selected based on rigorous tests and their looks
Debutants and bachelors dance the night away to a variety of music. The event is intended to encourage youngsters to engage in classical culture
Many of the daughters normally stay away from the limelight, avoiding journalists and public events, and instead flood their Instagram profiles with images of lavish holidays.
The remain largely silent on issues of politics, corruption, human rights, or the environment, fearing for their family’s position in society if they speak out.
But, attending the Viennese Ball clearly takes its toll and several former guests have risen to the boardrooms of banks and business corporations – or are on their way there.
One of the younger Kremlin daughters Yelizaveta Peskova, 23, spent months in Brussels in 2019 working as an intern at the European Parliament after attending the ball in 2015.
Caring about her selfie: Yelizaveta Peskova, 23, spent months in Brussels in 2019 working as an intern at the European Parliament. She attended the Tatler ball as a debutant in 2015
Peskova is seen dancing with Chechnyan leader Ramzan Khadyrov (left) – who has been accused of torturing and killing gay men in ‘concentration camps’. Right: The blonde is seen on a boat during one of her many travels abroad showcased on her popular Instagram account
Meanwhile Ksenia Shoigu, 30, the youngest daughter of the Russian defence minster Sergei Shoigu, runs a successful IT startup called Sistema SmartTech.
And, Putin’s alleged daughters – Maria Vorontsova, 36, and Yekaterina Tikhonova, 34 – both head billion-dollar projects in Russia’s business and science sector.
Vorontsova – sometimes referred to as Russia’s ‘first daughter’ – reportedly oversees a genetic modification project aimed at developing technology capable of editing babies genes.
Ksenia Shoigu, 30, the youngest daughter of the Russian defence minster Sergei Shoigu, runs a successful IT startup called Sistema SmartTech. She reportedly made the decision to sell the company last week
Vorontsova – sometimes referred to as Russia’s ‘first daughter’ – reportedly oversees a genetic modification project aimed at developing technology capable of editing babies genes
Another such case is Maria Shuvalova, 22, a danger at the world famous Bolshoi Ballet, and the daughter of Igor Shuvalov, the boss of Russia’s powerful state development corporation VEB.RF.
Bolshoi ballerinas reportedly only earn between $500 and $2,500 a month, but Shuvalova’s earned almost £20 million last year from a mysterious second source.
The young ballet dancer rakes in £75,000 a day for her role in ‘capital asset management’ – more than the bosses of Russian giants like energy behemoth Gazprom and largest financial institution Sberbank.
Maria’s father Igor Shuvalov is a close Putin ally and worked as Russia’s deputy prime minister in 2018. He is now the boss of Russia’s powerful state development corporation VEB.RF
As a dancer for Bolshoi, Maria has travelled across the world in the past two years. Performances featuring the 22-year-old have been held in Cyprus, Portugal, Amsterdam, among other locations
As a dancer at the world-famous Bolshoi, she’s danced across the world over the past two years, including in Cyprus, Portugal, Amsterdam, Italy, Bali and Tenerife.
Despite her busy schedule however, Shuvalova spent January sunning herself at her family’s luxury village in Dubai.
‘Maria is obviously doing well with time management – she manages to rehearse even with her busy travel schedule,’ Russian Tatler said at the time.
Former Russian Member of Parliament Gennady Gudkov told The Daily Beast: ‘Most of these young women in their twenties and thirties would have never got their managing positions and big stakes in business companies, if not for their fathers’ powerful connections,’
‘To stay wealthy and successful, they keep their mouths shut: Every daughter understands perfectly well that once she begins to comment on corruption or human rights her dad with be in the epicentre of a ruinous scandal.’
The Russian ‘capital asset management’ firm Maria has been receiving the sum from does not have her listed as an employee
As a dancer at the world-famous Bolshoi, she’s danced across the world over the past two years, including in Cyprus, Portugal, Amsterdam, Italy, Bali and Tenerife (pictured with father Igor Shuvalov)