The Russian defence minister's daughter is now in charge of the psychological trauma caused by her fathers botched army mobilisation.
Hundreds of thousands of men have been drafted into the military, each being split from their families and dealing with the fear of death on the frontline.
Many men have also fled abroad and have been forced to leave behind loved ones, to avoid being killed in Vladimir Putin ’s war with Ukraine.
Tens of thousands of families have suffered bereavement after sons, husbands and boyfriends were killed -after being ordered to the war by Sergei Shoigu.
Now Yulia Shoigu, the 45-year-old daughter of Putin’s loyal defence minister has been given the responsibility of overseeing the official Russian government effort to minimise psychological trauma.
Her role will help those suffering from her father’s “partial mobilisation” crusade and other aspects of the war. She has admitted people are suffering "anxiety and fear".
Yulia is head of an 800-strong team of psychologists and support staff in Russia ’s emergencies ministry. They have been tasked with ‘calming the nation’.
Advice from her Centre for Emergency Psychological Assistance- at the ministry states, “partial mobilisation makes serious changes to regular life, and this causes a sense of anxiety and fear”, according to Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.
Yulia and her team tell Russians how to minimise “anxiety and panic”, and deal with “worries for their loved ones in the current situation”.
The centre are warning people they may feel “a willingness to act, courage and bravery, then fear, anxiety and helplessness”.
Yulia Shoigu's team have also been advising those staying at home during the war-time.
They advise: “Focus on the things that can be done right now - cook food, take time for the children, talk to loved ones. Thanks to such simple actions, we learn to navigate a new situation, and it gradually becomes familiar to us.”
The centre believes that Russians should “learn to cope with anxiety” during Putin’s war.
They add: "Anxiety paralyses the will, depletes internal resources that are so necessary in a difficult situation in order to act rationally and support loved ones.”
“They could try breathing exercises to ease tension over the war. Or focus on childhood memories such as nursery rhymes or multiplication tables to forget the current horror.”
People are also being advised to stay fit and not “abuse alcohol”.
The centre is also urging people to limit their media browsing - implying they should stick to official information from a few outlets.
Such state-run channels are believed to be propaganda outlets seeking to justify a war widely condemned by the international community.
Yulia Shoigu’s role as top emergencies psychologist highlights the way top jobs under Putin often go to families and friends of his favourites.
She was appointed when her father was emergency minister in a posting clearly given due to nepotism.
The mother of two, whose husband Vladimir Zhakharov, 51, is Russia's deputy prosecutor general, remains secretive about her life.
She told a Russian Tatler: “I don't like to talk about personal things, not because I'm afraid or hiding something, but because I don't feel the need for it….”
“I have no desire to tell you what I ate for breakfast today, how much I ran, where I was.”
Her younger sister Ksenia Shoigu, 31, is more public, posting regularly on social media earlier in the war.
She has been seen enjoying a Black Sea beach holiday as her father’s soldiers are fighting in Ukraine.
When her partner Alexey Stolyarov, 31, posted the pictures he was hit by a wave of web anger from Ukraine.
One critic said: “Your father-in-law killed so many such babies in Ukraine. Over 1,400 children died from father-in-law's orders. We will not forgive.”
She heads a military museum and park and was seen hosting Putin and her father.
She also defended her father who has come under severe criticism from war hardliners, accusing him of tactical failures and defeatism costing thousands of Russian lives.
She said: “My pride, my guiding star, my dad…proud to be your daughter.”
