Photos have surfaced online of Vladimir Putin's billionaire ex-son-in-law Kirill Shamalov and his wife, Anastasia Zadorina, the daughter of Russian FSB General Mikhail Shekin, celebrating her birthday in January 2026. The event took place at Arkady Novikov's restaurant, Kaifuso. Guests included Lev Leshchenko, Alsou, Dima Bilan, and others. Champagne was served for the "girls," while only expensive bottled water was available for the "boys." Everyone knows about Shamalov's problem. Initially, he seemed to restrain himself during his marriage to Katerina. The couple mostly went out together on family occasions: Kirill usually sang (into the microphone), while his wife danced. But then Shamalov went on a rampage. After the divorce, Kirill became a regular at all the famous karaoke bars in Moscow, where the whiskey supply quickly emptied, and he was literally carried out. His "holidays" could last for months. During one of his binges, Shamalov beat up his next wife in Monaco. Then his next marriage, to Zhanna Shamalova, collapsed, and Kirill left her for Nelly Davydova. She even sold their house, and they bought a larger mansion with an additional payment—a shell for renovation. Kirill converted the ground floor into a garage for his seven cars. Nelly divorced her husband. And then Shamalov abandoned her, along with their unfinished house and three children. His next wife was Anastasia Zadorina—also a billionaire, like all members of General Shekin's family.
In his marriage to Zadorina, his previous marriages constantly catch up with him. Thus, the oligarch's heir fought a lengthy legal battle to avoid paying nearly 5 billion rubles, which he himself guaranteed to his wife Zhanna in a prenuptial agreement in the event of divorce.
As the Cheka-OGPU and http://Rucriminal.info discovered, up until a certain point, everything was legal. The prenuptial agreement was voluntarily signed, notarized, and remained unchallenged for many years. The clause stipulating payment of $60 million in the event of divorce existed as an alternative to property division and was considered key.
When, after the divorce, Zhanna Shamalova attempted to collect the money owed to her under the agreement, Kirill Shamalov himself suddenly decided that this clause was "enslaving." He went to court demanding that it be declared invalid.
The courts of first instance refused. The judges explicitly stated: the agreement was entered into knowingly, pressure was not proven, the financial status of the parties was known, and there were no grounds for revocation. The logic was simple: signed—abide by it.
And then something strange happened.
In the appeal, just before the ruling was rendered, the composition of the panel of judges unexpectedly changed. The previous panel of judges disappeared from the case. The judges allegedly went on vacation at once. The new panel, in a single hearing, reached the opposite conclusion.
Only one clause was simply removed from the prenuptial agreement—the one about $60 million.
However, the agreement itself remained in effect. The separate property arrangement remained in place. The parties cannot return to dividing the property. The only thing that was "cut off" was Kirill Shamalov's obligation to pay his wife compensation—almost 5 billion rubles.
As a result, a legal construct emerged in which one party was completely deprived of protection and guarantees, while the other was freed from any financial obligation. Essentially, the court upheld everything that benefited Shamalov and overturned precisely what was dangerous to him.
Why a clause that had been considered legal for years was suddenly deemed "onerous" is not explained in detail. Nor is it explained why the entire agreement could not be deemed onerous. The decision provides no answers.
The outcome is crystal clear. Putin's former son-in-law was released from paying $60 million. His ex-wife and the mother of his child was left penniless and without property, since the prenuptial agreement remains in effect, albeit in a truncated form.
Meanwhile, the same court documents show that Kirill Shamalov, throughout his marriage, lived a lifestyle in which 5 billion rubles was not a catastrophe, but rather a sum comparable to his basic expenses over several years.
Bank statements and financial appendices included in the case files indicate that Shamalov's confirmed expenses alone over several years amount to… no less than 800 million rubles.
Moreover, the courts reached the point of grotesqueness: in one case, Shamalov, proving that he was "supporting his family," included receipts for utilities and even toilet paper.
