Putin’s friend wants to solve the secret of longevity with the help of monkeys

In Russia, scientists at the Kurchatov Institute, led by Vladimir Putin’s close associate Mikhail Kovalchuk, are studying old monkeys to understand how to slow down aging and extend human life.

This is reported by the Russian agency TASS.

Kovalchuk spoke about the research at the Kurchatov Genomic Forum in Moscow. According to him, scientists have gathered a group of elderly monkeys, which they are observing to understand how the body ages.

In total, the institute’s nurseries house over 7,000 monkeys of 22 species. Researchers pay particular attention to animals aged 18 to over 30 years.

Scientists are checking the condition of their brains, blood vessels and other organs, conducting blood tests and tracking age-related changes. Kovalchuk explained that monkeys are closest to humans in many biological features, so such studies can help find ways to extend life.

In addition, the Kurchatov Institute, together with the Russian Scientific Center for Surgery, has created a biobank where blood samples from long-lived monkeys are stored. With their help, scientists plan to find out what processes affect the aging of the body.

Mikhail Kovalchuk is described as Putin’s longtime friend and informal advisor on scientific matters. His brother, billionaire Yuri Kovalchuk, is also part of the Russian dictator’s inner circle.

Putin himself is also interested in the topic of longevity. In September 2025, during a trip to China, he discussed with Chinese President Xi Jinping the possibility of extending human life to 150 years.

Putin’s eldest daughter, Maria Vorontsova, has also joined the research in this area. In October, she spoke at Moscow’s Skolkovo, where a longevity laboratory has opened. At the time, Vorontsova called the human desire to live longer than natural limits an attempt to “cheat God.”

Meanwhile, Russian scientists are also working on gene therapy to slow down cell aging and technologies for growing organs for transplant in genetically modified minipigs.

The Kremlin plans to spend billions of rubles on research into longevity. In particular, the budget for 2027-2029 has allocated almost 18 billion rubles for the “New Technologies for Health Preservation” program.