Putin's mysterious daughter, whom he has never publicly acknowledged, made her debut on Russian TV

REUTERS

Katerina Tikhonova (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

• Vladimir Putin has never confirmed the identity of his two daughters, but one commonly thought to be has appeared on state TV for the first time.
• Katerina Tikhonova appeared on the Rossiya 1 news on Thursday to talk about her work in "mathematical research of complex systems" at Moscow University.
• Tikhonova, 33, is considered Putin's youngest daughter from his first marriage that ended in 2013, and her older sister is named Maria Putin.
• He has never publicly acknowledged either daughter by name, but has referenced them in passing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's mysterious daughter "Katerina" - who he has never publicly acknowledged by name - made her debut on Russian state TV on Thursday.

Katerina Tikhonova - commonly believed to be the youngest of the president's two daughters from his first marriage - was seen on state TV channel Rossiya 1, talking about advancements in technology aimed at controlling electrical impulses in the brain, BBC Monitoring reported.

Read more: Putin has 2, maybe 3, daughters he never talks about - here's everything we know about them

Rossiya 1

Katerina Tikhonova (R) on Rossiya 1 on Thursday.

On the evening news show, the 33-year-old was introduced with the title "deputy director of the institute for mathematical research of complex systems at Moscow's State University," the report said.

It seems to be the first time she has appeared on state television, according to the BBC.

In addition to holding a position at Moscow University, Katerina was previously reported to have been an acrobat at the World Rock'n'Roll Federation, a dance competition.

Thomson Reuters

Katerina Tikhonova dances with Ivan Klimov during the World Cup Rock'n'Roll Acrobatic Competition in Krakow.

Her identity has been a mystery for some time. The federation's vice president for legal affairs, Manfred Mohab, confirmed she was Putin's daughter to Reuters.

Reports of Putin's daughters don't crop up very regularly. Most recently, there were rumors of Katerina's divorce, and speculation that the eldest of the two daughters, Maria Putin, lives on a suburban golf course in Surrey, UK.

Putin was asked in 2015 whether Tikhonova was one of his daughters, but that he did not answer the question, the BBC said. But he has indirectly referred to both daughters and to a grandchild.

Putin publicly divorced Katarina's mother in 2013, after 29 years of marriage, and some reports say he had another daughter with his girlfriend in 2015, which the government has denied.