The key facts

  • A longevity laboratory has been created at Skolkovo on the basis of the healthcare development center
  • Maria Vorontsova: science has not yet surpassed the 'natural potential' of life of 85–90 years
  • In 2025 she received a 30 million ruble grant; the WSJ reported on a $26 billion program

The Longevity Laboratory at Skolkovo

The Russian Skolkovo management school in Moscow has created a laboratory for the study of longevity on the basis of its healthcare development center. According to Vedomosti, researchers there will study the impact of increased life expectancy on the healthcare system, markets, labor activity, and public policy. Based on the data obtained, the researchers will propose management solutions aimed at improving the quality of life of elderly people.

Statements by Maria Vorontsova

Maria Vorontsova, director of the Medical Research and Education Institute of Sechenov University (referred to as 'MDU' in the source) and daughter of Vladimir Putin, spoke at a forum at Skolkovo. According to her, science has not yet advanced far enough to extend human life beyond the 'naturally built-in potential of 85–90 years.' She cited as one obstacle the fact that old age is not considered a disease: without a diagnosis, clinical trials of drugs cannot be conducted. In her forecast, in 10–20 years the 'universal human fear of death' will push healthcare specialists to solve this problem.

Funding and Context

In 2025, Vorontsova received a grant of 30 million rubles from the Russian Science Foundation for a laboratory studying cell renewal and active longevity. In May 2026, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Russian government, under the national project 'New Technologies for Preserving Health,' is funding a large-scale anti-aging program worth $26 billion, which includes organ bioprinting, xenotransplantation involving mini-pigs, and gene therapy. According to the publication, the program will be led by people close to Putin: his daughter, endocrinologist Maria Vorontsova, who oversees state genetic projects, and physicist Mikhail Kovalchuk — brother of banker Yuri Kovalchuk, head of the Kurchatov Institute and a friend of Putin. The elder Kovalchuk is called the ideological architect of the Kremlin's longevity program; he claims that science will soon make it possible to 'endlessly repair and replace' human organs.