• 02 Nov, 2025
• Longevity
• No comment

Russia Expands Funding for Anti-Aging Research, Reports Say.

Putin goes for immortality

Moscow — Russia’s state science foundation has sharply increased support for research into aging and life extension in recent years, according to reporting by the exiled outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe.

The Russian Science Foundation (RSF), created in 2013 to finance basic and applied science, has backed 43 projects on aging between 2021 and 2025, compared with just seven in the 2016–2020 period, the outlet said.

Funding levels have also grown. RSF grants today typically range from 4 million to 7 million rubles (\$47,000–\$83,000) annually, up from 3 million to 6 million rubles in 2017. By the foundation’s own figures, total allocations for aging-related projects rose from at least 21 million rubles (\$250,000) in 2016–2020 to a minimum of 172 million rubles (\$2 million) in 2021–2025.

Most awards came between 2021 and 2023, covering research into topics such as innate immunity and its role in aging, and links between brain and eye changes in Alzheimer’s disease. In 2025 alone, five new projects received support, including studies on stress-induced cellular senescence and hypothalamic neuron activity.

One high-profile recipient is Maria Vorontsova, widely reported to be President Vladimir Putin’s eldest daughter. Her project on cell renewal and healthy longevity was approved under a “world-class scientific laboratories” program, which offers grants up to 30 million rubles (\$357,000) — significantly larger than RSF’s standard awards. Independent outlet T-Invariant noted that Vorontsova’s academic citation index was substantially lower than other winners.

RSF’s overall budget for 2025 stands at about 40 billion rubles (\$476 million), according to its website.

President Putin, 72, has previously expressed personal interest in life extension. Earlier this month, during a military parade in Beijing, he and Chinese President Xi Jinping were overheard discussing longevity. Xi suggested humans might reach 150 years of age this century, to which Putin responded that biotechnology advances could allow people to “live younger and younger, and even achieve immortality.”