At the end of Tuesday, which marked the first day of the opposition leader at the infamous Matrosskaya Tishina facility, his team launched a colossal investigation into the president’s wealth, offering the Russians to investigate what they claim to be the “Putin palace” “in the Black Sea.
Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) called the report his “biggest investigation yet.” It contains allegations of vast corruption schemes related to what they say is Putin’s property, estimated at about $ 1.4 billion.
CNN is not able to independently verify FBK’s claims. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, denied that the Russian leader had ties to the property on Tuesday.
“They are repeating the old story. It was in the year 2017 or 2016, if I’m not mistaken, that the first time it was mentioned there should be the so-called Putin palace in Gelendzhik. This is not true. it is not a palace, it does not own any palace, “Peskov told CNN.
“These are all rumors and there have been some disputes between the owners of these facilities, but they really have nothing to do with President Putin.”
The existence of the property was first reported more than a decade ago, when a businessman Sergey Kolesnikov published an open letter with several documents urging then President Dmitry Medvedev to “stop corruption” that finances the construction of the alleged palace.
The report and a nearly two-hour documentary also offer a more comprehensive view of the palace’s interior. FBK says a subcontractor involved in the construction delivered detailed plans for the building, along with detailed lists of purchased furniture and samples of floor patterns. The group then used these documents and photos obtained from construction workers to create 3D models of the interiors.
“It is like a state within a state where an irremovable tsar rules,” said Navalny in the documentary. “It is built in a way that nobody can reach it by land, sea or air, thousands of people who work there are forbidden to bring even a simple camera phone … but let’s take a look inside”.
According to the plans, the 17,691 square-meter castle has 11 rooms, several living rooms and dining areas, a private theater, a cinema, a Las Vegas-style casino, two spas and a hammam, a bakery and a “dirt room” with an unknown purpose. The rooms, adorned with velvet and luxurious carpets, feature marble floors, columns and intricate ceiling decorations made to resemble the royal palaces of St. Petersburg.
A separate part of the report is devoted to descriptions of incredibly expensive furniture made to order by an Italian luxury brand, including a $ 56,000 table and a $ 27,000 sofa.
Described on the FBK website as “the most controversial room in Putin’s palace”, the plan also includes a hookah lounge with what appears to be a dancer pole.
As the Navalny website sarcastically states: “In the plan, it was designated as a ‘hookah room’. And everything would be fine, but there is not a single window in that room, but for some reason there is a stage, a dressing room, spotlights and something very similar to a pole drawn on the plan. We thought for a long time what it could be. Maybe they do giant shawarmas there … Or it’s a training camp for firefighters. “
The Navalny Anti-Corruption Foundation says castle costs have skyrocketed due to constant renovations, according to interviews with people who worked there. The house initially had critical problems with the ventilation system and humidity levels, which led to the destruction of many rich interiors due to mold, according to the FBK probe.
The FBK says that the property around the palace is estimated to occupy 68 hectares, but adds that the real estate is probably about 100 times larger, with a large adjoining lot that supposedly belongs to the Federal Security Service, or FSB, as a buffer. for the property.
According to the drone videos filmed by the FBK, the property has a private hockey rink, private church, amphitheater and a 2,500 square meter greenhouse. The territory is heavily guarded with several control points that lead to it; the plot of land itself is listed as a no-fly zone, according to the FBK.
The territory has extensive vineyards where classical music is played 24 hours a day, apparently to help the grapes ripen, according to members of the region’s vineyard association who heard the music playing during a visit to the farm, says the FBK. The bathrooms of a processing facility in the vineyard are reportedly equipped with a $ 850 Italian toilet brush and a $ 1,250 toilet paper holder.
Navalny states that wine production is Putin’s “very expensive hobby” and the Russian president serves this wine to his friends: “He drinks with his friend from China, Xi Jinping, and, under the same chardonnay, discusses’ more integration deep ‘with [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko “, according to photos of menus he says were served during official receptions.
Navalny also claims to have discovered a complicated scheme to finance the president’s property and other personal expenses. The report states that Putin, at the beginning of his presidency, struck a deal with Russian oligarchs and wealthy businessmen to “donate” part of their income to an investment firm. But 35% of those donations would then go to a special Swiss offshore bank account with a Belize registered company, says Navalny. Reuters previously reported on the financial web around the Black Sea property in 2014.
Navalny, who faced the choice of disappearing into obscurity as an emigrant or returning to Russia and almost certainly being arrested on arrival, chose the latter option.
He was detained at a Moscow airport late Sunday, moments after arriving from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from the Novichok poisoning he attributed to the Russian government. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied any involvement.
The next morning, Navalny faced an unexpected hearing in which the judge ordered him to be placed in custody for 30 days. He now awaits trial to determine whether he violated the terms of his suspended sentence in a 2014 embezzlement case he says is politically motivated.
After the verdict on his arrest, Navalny’s team announced a national demonstration this weekend, and the report is seen as a way to attract more Russians to the streets.
“Above all, I want the same kind of anger that burns in me to burn in people who watch this video,” tweeted Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh. “Putin is stealing my country, arresting my friends, he is a murderer. And I want to fight back. Moscow, Pushkin Square … I will be there. I hope to see you there too.”
In less than a day, the documentary eclipsed 25 million views on YouTube and aims to bypass the report on Medvedev’s wealth and Navalny’s investigations of his own poisoning.
The documentary showing the Medvedev mansion, among other things, has been viewed more than 37 million times and has led to several mass protests across Russia. At the time, the Kremlin called the protest requests illegal and Medvedev considered the report “absurd”. The demonstrations ended in mass arrests; in Moscow alone, about 1,000 people were arrested.
CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen contributed to this report.