Putin ramps up funding for anti-aging research in Russia
Photo: Vladimir Putin, Russian leader (Getty Images)
In recent years, Russian leader Vladimir Putin has significantly increased funding for anti-aging research projects, Novaya Gazeta reports.
According to the outlet, between 2021 and 2025, the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) supported 43 projects in fundamental medicine related to aging. In comparison, only seven such studies were funded between 2016 and 2020.
RSF data shows that grants in 2025 range from 4 to 7 million rubles per year (approximately $47,000–$82,000), with the possibility of extending funding for one or two years. In 2017, standard grants were smaller - 3 to 6 million rubles (about $35,000–$70,000). Novaya Gazeta estimates that total funding for aging projects may have increased from 21 million rubles (about $248,000) in 2016–2020 to 172 million rubles (about $2.03 million) in 2021–2025, with the actual sum possibly even higher.
Most of these projects were funded between 2021 and 2023, with 34 applications receiving support. Among them is a study titled "Mechanisms of innate immunity in the formation of physiological and pathological aging," aimed at identifying markers to predict normal or complicated aging. Another project examines the link between brain and eye changes and Alzheimer’s disease, exploring ways to prevent its development.
In 2025, RSF supported five medical projects whose titles include the word "aging."
Another project directly related to the topic is "Regulation of cell renewal processes in the body, the fundamental basis for maintaining long-term functional activity of organs and tissues, health, and active longevity." The project is led by Maria Vorontsova, whom the media identifies as Vladimir Putin’s eldest daughter.
Conversation between Putin and Xi Jinping
On September 3, during a meeting in Beijing, Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping discussed the topic of longevity.
Putin assured that with technological advancements, it would be possible to replace human organs with new ones, which he described as a step toward immortality.
"Earlier, people rarely lived to 70, but these days at 70 years you are still a child," Xi said.
