Former presidential candidate and TV star Ksenia Sobchak attends a news conference in Moscow in 2018. AP
Former presidential candidate and TV star Ksenia Sobchak attends a news conference in Moscow in 2018. AP
Former presidential candidate and TV star Ksenia Sobchak attends a news conference in Moscow in 2018. AP
Former presidential candidate and TV star Ksenia Sobchak attends a news conference in Moscow in 2018. AP

Vladimir Putin's socialite goddaughter Ksenia Sobchak flees Russia


Soraya Ebrahimi
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Ksenia Sobchak, a Russian socialite and TV personality, has fled the country after being named as a suspect in an extortion case, state media reported on Wednesday.

A popular media personality and journalist, Sobchak is reportedly President Vladimir Putin's goddaughter. Her father, the late Saint Petersburg mayor Anatoly Sobchak, was once Mr Putin's boss.

Sobchak “departed Moscow during the night”, a police source told news agency Tass.

The source said she left Russia through Belarus to enter Lithuania.

Tass and state-run channel RT cited law enforcement sources as saying Sobchak was suspected of large-scale extortion, a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The agency earlier said her villa outside Moscow was searched in connection with a case against her commercial director, Arian Romanovsky.

Putin's inner circle — in pictures

Sobchak has for years been involved in Russian opposition politics, though she remains a divisive figure among Mr Putin critics.

The 40-year-old ran for the presidency against Mr Putin in 2018, with Russian opposition politicians accusing her of being used by the Kremlin as a spoiler candidate.

Thousands of Russians have fled the country since Mr Putin launched an attack on Ukraine in February, with a second wave leaving after he announced a military mobilisation on September 21.

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Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
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Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
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Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

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Allardyce's management career

Clubs (10) - Limerick (1991-1992), Perston North End (1992), Blackpool (1994-1996), Notts County (1997-1999), Bolton Wanderers (1999-2007), Newcastle United (2007-2008), Blackburn Rovers (2008-2010), West Ham United (2011-2015), Sunderland (2016), Crystal Palace (2016-2017)

Countries (1) - England (2016)

Updated: October 27, 2022, 12:04 AM`