Between bioprinting human organs, raising “miniature pigs,” gene therapy, and exposure to very low temperatures, Russian President Vladimir Putin is leading a huge project to combat aging and prolong life, in an initiative that has turned from a personal interest into an official priority within the Kremlin, at a cost of up to $26 billion.
According to a report by journalist Bojan Banchevsky in the Wall Street Journal, Putin’s conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a military parade in Beijing last year about the possibility of achieving immortality by replacing human organs was not just a passing joke between two elderly leaders, but rather was a direct reference to an integrated Russian project supported by the state and considered one of the most prominent scientific programs sponsored by the Kremlin.
The report indicates that Putin, like a number of Silicon Valley billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, and Peter Thiel, has for years shown great interest in anti-aging research, but the difference is that Russia has turned this interest into a state policy that relies on multiple technologies, including bioprinting organs, growing human organs inside miniature pigs, and using advanced genetic therapies.
Last April, the Russian government announced that its scientists were working to develop a gene therapy aimed at slowing cell aging, as part of the “New Technologies for Preserving Health” program, a project launched by Putin in 2024.
Russian Deputy Science Minister Denis Sekirinsky said that this drug “represents one of the most promising paths in the fight against aging.”
Russian scientific teams are also working on developing transplantable human organs through 3D bioprinting, which is the same field that Putin spoke about during his meeting with Xi Jinping. The plan aims to achieve the ability to replace human organs by 2030.
The Kremlin explained that “work is underway in Russia on a full range of scientific programs in this field,” stressing that the state supports these projects and that many research and scientific institutions are participating in them.
The report reveals that the project is led by two people very close to Putin: his daughter Maria Vorontsova, an endocrinologist who supervises government genetic programs, and the physicist Mikhail Kovalchuk, head of the Kurchatov Nuclear Research Institute.
Kovalchuk is considered the intellectual brain of the project, as he believes that science will soon enable humans to repair and replace body parts endlessly. He previously stated, “It is difficult to talk about immortality, but the ability of man to repair himself will undoubtedly increase.”
However, the Russian project faces widespread skepticism in scientific circles. Russian scientist Alexander Ostrovsky, one of the pioneers of bioprinting in Russia, said that the absence of research published in major international scientific journals raises question marks about the announced results, adding: “If there are no publications, there are no real results.”
Ostrovsky, who left Russia after the war in Ukraine, noted that the scientific isolation resulting from Western sanctions makes developing these projects more difficult, considering that some researchers may be “telling Putin what he wants to hear to secure funding.”
Putin’s interest is not limited to traditional science, as the report notes that he supports more controversial ideas, including cryotherapy. In 2018, former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz advised trying cold rooms whose temperature drops to about minus 170 degrees Celsius, explaining to him the benefits of standing naked inside them.
The report indicates that Putin, who is 73 years old, has built over decades the image of a strong man who does not age, through his frequent appearances while hunting, riding motorcycles, and playing sports, but behind this image stands a clear obsession related to aging and declining physical capabilities.
During the Corona pandemic, the Russian President imposed strict and unprecedented isolation measures on his visitors, which included sterilization tunnels and long quarantine periods, while the long tables behind which he was sitting turned into a symbol of fear of infection.
The report also notes that the majority of those close to Putin are over seventy years of age, which makes the life extension project more closely linked to the ruling elite in Moscow.
Despite the billions of dollars spent on the project, Russia remains among the countries with high death rates compared to developed countries, as the average life expectancy for Russian men is only about 68 years, compared to 76 years in the United States and more than 80 years in most Western European countries.
The report concludes with a remarkable paradox: while the Kremlin can manage many political and security files, man’s battle with time and aging remains much more difficult than any other battle, even for Vladimir Putin himself.
