26 billion dollar project by which Putin wants to achieve immortality with the help of pig organs
The Moscow leader's obsession with his own health and life extension has moved from the level of pandemic phobias to that of state policy. The Wall Street Journal exposes a secret science program with an astronomical $26 billion budget. The objective: genetic manipulation, tissue bioprinting and growing human organs inside pigs.
The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin/PHOTO: Profimedia
What at first appeared to be just an “eccentric discussion between two aging autocrats” – held last September at a military parade in Beijing between Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping – turned out to be the outline of a real state project. Putin then explained to the Chinese leader that humanity can achieve immortality if it systematically replaces its worn-out organs.
Today, the pompously titled initiative “New Technologies for Health Preservation” has become one of Russia's landmark scientific projects. Under the umbrella of this program, Russian researchers are working on innovative gene therapies aimed at slowing cellular aging, with the Moscow government promoting the technology as the future of the fight against biological degradation.
Another area of scientific research within this project is the creation of human organs for transplantation. Russian scientists are exploring the possibilities of bioprinting tissues and growing human organs using pigs.
It is claimed that by 2030 technologies could be created to replace human organs.
Putin's daughter and inner circle physicist are handling the project
The WSJ investigation shows that the reins of this megaproject are in the hands of two figures extremely close to the Russian president: Maria Vorontsova, Vladimir Putin's eldest daughter, an endocrinologist who directly oversees state-funded genetic programs. And Mikhail Kovalciuk, renowned physicist, head of the Kurceatov Institute and one of the most influential members of Putin's inner circle.
Kovalciuk has repeatedly claimed publicly that modern science is very close to allowing people to “endlessly repair and replace parts of their own bodies”.
However, the independent scientific community views these promises with deep skepticism. Aleksandr Ostrovski, a Russian bioprinting researcher who left the country after the invasion of Ukraine, points out that the Kremlin's projects are not supported by research published in prestigious international journals. “If there are no publications, there are no real results. Their statements should be seen more as wishes or even dreams,” he explained.
The phobias of an autocrat, in a country with a declining life expectancy
Vladimir Putin's interest in cryogenics, anti-aging therapies and biological isolation is not new. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the strict quarantine rules imposed on any visitor to the Kremlin and the famous meters-long tables have become global symbols of his hypochondria. The WSJ also mentions the episode in 2018, when Putin recommended the former Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz to test cryotherapy in special chambers where temperatures drop to minus 112 degrees Celsius.
The cynical irony of this $26 billion project lies in the striking contrast with Russia's demographic reality. While the elites in the Kremlin are looking for the recipe for immortality, the Russian Federation remains stuck in the top of the list of countries with a high mortality rate and a low life expectancy.
According to official data, the average life expectancy for men in Russia is about 68 years, well below the 76 years in the US or the 80-year mark constantly exceeded in Western Europe.
This waste of resources comes at a time when Russian society is beginning to feel the economic burden of the war in Ukraine more acutely: tax increases, digital censorship and economic decline. Even the official polls reflect this state of fatigue; The Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) has seen another drop in confidence in Vladimir Putin, with the number of Russians approving of his work falling to 67.5%, while public dissatisfaction is at its highest level in decades.
