Russia Increases Investment in Aging Research Amid Putins Interest in Longevity and Immortality

Russia’s state scientific foundation has significantly increased its funding for medical research focused on aging and life extension in recent years, according to a report from the exiled news outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe.

Established in 2013 to support both fundamental and applied research, the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) backed 43 aging-related projects from 2021 to 2025, a notable rise from just seven projects in the period from 2016 to 2020, as reported by Novaya Gazeta Europe.

Among the funded projects is one overseen by a woman purported to be the daughter of President Vladimir Putin.

Current main grants from the foundation range from 4 to 7 million rubles (approximately $47,000 to $83,000) annually, with the potential for extensions. In contrast, typical grant sizes in 2017 varied from 3 million to 6 million rubles (about $36,000 to $71,000).

According to the RSF’s own statistics, the minimum funding allocated to aging-related initiatives increased from 21 million rubles (around $250,000) during 2016-2020 to at least 172 million rubles (approximately $2 million) in the 2021-2025 timeframe.

The majority of these grants were awarded during the years 2021-2023, funding studies that explore the role of innate immunity in the aging process and investigations linking brain and eye changes to Alzheimer’s disease.

In 2025 alone, five distinct projects related to aging received funding, addressing subjects like stress-induced cellular senescence and alterations in hypothalamic neuron activity.

At least one additional grant in 2025 supported a research project on cell regeneration and healthy longevity, led by Maria Vorontsova, identified by media sources as Putin’s eldest daughter.

The exiled scientific outlet T-Invariant reported that Vorontsova’s proposal was accepted under a program aimed at establishing «world-class scientific laboratories,» which offers grants up to 30 million rubles (around $357,000) — significantly higher than the RSF’s standard funding.

The report highlighted that her citation index was considerably lower than those of other recipients of grants.

As stated on its website, the RSF’s budget for 2025 is approximately 40 billion rubles (about $476 million).

At 72, Putin has shown an interest in life extension and anti-aging research.

He and Chinese President Xi Jinping were overheard discussing human longevity during a military parade in Beijing earlier this month, with Xi suggesting that humans might live to 150 this century.

Putin responded by stating that advancements in biotechnology could enable people to «live younger and younger, and potentially achieve immortality.»