Russia’s health minister has thrown cold water on the Kremlin’s lofty longevity ambitions, a topic that observers say has long become a personal fixation for President Vladimir Putin.
Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said it is currently impossible to develop a universal remedy to extend youth in Russia, effectively undercutting Putin’s musings about living to 150. He made the remarks in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel, according to TASS.
Putin, 73, has for years spoken publicly about extending human life and his interest in personal longevity. His elder daughter has overseen several state-funded projects in the field. But even senior officials are now tempering expectations.
“Creating a universal anti-aging pill will be quite difficult for now,” Murashko acknowledged, adding that only partial approaches are realistic at this stage, such as regulating the immune system and treating specific diseases.
Murashko’s comments stand in contrast to the Kremlin’s rhetoric, where life extension has featured prominently in Putin’s public remarks. He has repeatedly discussed boosting average life expectancy in Russia to 150 years and entertained talk of near-“immortality.”
In late November, Sber chief Herman Gref, speaking in Putin’s presence, claimed humanity could approach “eternal life” by 2032 - a prediction the Russian leader greeted enthusiastically.
Murashko’s remarks highlight the limits: mainstream science does not support promises of immortality, and no real “elixir” exists or is on the horizon.
In 2024, Britain’s The Times reported that Putin was “obsessed with the idea of eternal life” and had urged scientists to accelerate anti-aging research. The Health Ministry, the paper said, sought updates on efforts to combat cellular aging, cognitive decline and osteoporosis.
In December, the news agency RBC reported that Russian research centers had begun exploring ways to slow aging and measure the “biological age” of organs. For now, these projects remain experimental and without practical results.
