International

No expense was spared when Kirill Shamalov, a young businessman, married Katerina Tikhonova, an acrobatic dancer. They arrived on a Russian sleigh drawn by three white horses and their initials, “K&K”, were projected onto the ice rink.

Guests wore white scarves embroidered with “K&K” in red thread. On the orders of the bride’s father, however, they left their phones at the entrance. Vladimir Putin did not want pictures of his daughter’s wedding made public.Five years later, the fairy tale appears to be over for these children of the elite. Shamalov is reported to have left Tikhonova — his departure from Russia’s “first family” is said to have cost him a fortune — and now, with fine irony, he is on the US sanctions list targeting Putin’s cronies.