Kathrine Frich
She runs the Medical Research and Education Institute at Moscow State University
Everyone wants to add a few more good years to the calendar.
Scientists have spent centuries trying to slow down the biological clock, usually hitting a wall around the ninth decade.
Now, top political insiders are betting billions that the rules of getting old are about to change.
Chasing longer lives
Russia just launched a new longevity laboratory at its Skolkovo tech hub, according to United24 Media and an October 19 report from The Insider.
Right as the doors opened, Vladimir Putin’s daughter, Maria Vorontsova, predicted that researchers will make major strides in extending human life within the next 10 to 20 years.
Vorontsova runs the Medical Research and Education Institute at Moscow State University. She noted that modern medicine has struggled to push people past a natural ceiling of 85 to 90 years, U24 Media reported.
Why the hold-up? According to Vorontsova, health regulators do not officially treat getting old as an illness, and since drug trials need a clear medical diagnosis, scientists face red tape when testing anti-aging treatments.
Still, she argued that our shared fear of dying will force health bosses to rewrite those rules over the coming two decades.
Hot mics and billions
The push goes straight to the top.
During a hot mic exchange with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a Beijing military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II on September 3, 2025, Putin suggested that continuous organ transplants and biotech could keep people young and grant immortality, while Xi replied that humans might soon reach 150 years old.
Putin later confirmed the chat to reporters and told a Moscow artificial intelligence conference in November 2025 that even 150 years would “still never be enough”.
Russia is backing that ambition with cash. In 2025, the Russian Science Foundation gave Vorontsova a 30-million-ruble ($370,000) grant to study cell renewal, United24 Media noted, while the new Skolkovo team will study how longer lives affect jobs, markets, and healthcare.
By May 2026, The Wall Street Journal revealed Moscow was pouring $26 billion into an anti-aging drive covering gene therapy, 3D-printed human tissue, and transplanting organs from miniature pigs.
According to the newspaper, Putin’s inner circle runs the effort, including Vorontsova and Kurchatov Institute boss Mikhail Kovalchuk, who champions swapping out worn-out body parts to extend life.
