She was born on 9 May 1972 in
Ivanovo to a family of surgeons. Her father was Yevgeny Mikhailovich Putin (1933–2024), a urologist and cousin of
Vladimir Putin. She graduated from the with a degree in psychiatry. From 1996, she worked as a psychiatrist at the
Bogorodskoye Psychiatric Hospital in Ivanovo. After
Vladimir Putin became president, she moved to Moscow and began supplying medical equipment, working as a manager at the state-owned
Medtekhsnab, and then at the private company Digimed. On 17 June 2024, she was made a deputy minister of defence. This appointment reportedly drew muted criticism within the Russian press for nepotism that "tested even Russian tolerance for corrupt practice", according to the
British Ministry of Defence On 17 August 2024, the British Ministry of Defence reported that Tsivilyova had been promoted to the position of State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, while still maintaining her role as Deputy Defence Minister. In this new role, she is primarily responsible for the ministry's relationship with the Russian legislature and other government bodies. ==Personal life==