Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Putin's Seaside Palace: 8 Million Square Feet

Residence has casino, movie theater, amphitheater, pool, helipad...

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 15, 2011 4:37 PM CST

(Newser) – With the Russian government described in leaked US cables as a "mafia state" in which bribery constitutes a "parallel tax system," it makes one wonder: What do the plutocrats do with all that cash? For Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, one previously reported answer to that question is "build lavish palaces"—and now details published by Russia's Novaya Gazeta purport to flesh out just how lavish.

Gazeta printed what it says is a contract for Putin to pay almost $1 billion for an Italian-style, 8-million-square foot palace on a Black Sea resort, notes the Telegraph. The seaside palace has its own vineyard, helipad, and casino. Somehow involved in the disclosure is Sergei Kolesnikov, a businessman who says he was involved in the project but pulled out. "Corrupt officials building themselves personal palaces at a time when children are dying due to lack of funds for medicines is Russia's shame," Kolesnikov wrote in a letter to Medvedev.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin seen in the Konstantin Palace near St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. (AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, Pool)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

CLICK BELOW TO VOTE

63%

10%

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Novel About Corruption May Be Kremlin Official's Work

Close to Zero portrays bribes, fraud as commonplace in contemporary Russia

(NEWSER) - A novel about a publisher navigating Russia’s complex web of political favors and payoffs may have been written by a top Kremlin official, the Moscow Times reports. Sources at Russky Pioner magazine, which published excerpts of Close to Zero before its release last month, say Vladislav Surkov, a powerful aide to Vladimir Putin, wrote the novel under a pen name. More»

In Case Pen Is No Mightier, Russian Journos Want Guns

Novaya Gazeta 's work has earned it a grim legacy of dead reporters

(NEWSER) - The murders of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and reporter Anastasia Baburova last week are only the latest to strike the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, and show just how costly freedom of the press still is in Russia, Der Spiegel reports. Investigative reporters are likely to make so many enemies—from members of the military to corrupt politicians, businessmen, or gangsters—that Gazeta wants to provide its reporters with guns. More»

New Russian Prez Digs Hard Rock, Putin

In Medvedev, quirky résumé masks loyal junior partner

(NEWSER) - Trivia on Russian president-elect Dmitry Medvedev—that he is a swimmer, a yoga lover, and Deep Purple buff—merely masks a man wholly devoted to Vladimir Putin, New Yorker editor David Remnick writes. "Trivia domesticated even the worst Soviet-era résumés," he reminds us: Catherine the Great loved horses, Nicholas II photography, and Alexander III the French horn. Medvedev's pastimes are just as trivial. More»

Putin: Jack Protester Fines to Hulking $9.5K

Measure could become law next week

(NEWSER) - Basking in his re-election glow, Vladimir Putin yesterday backed a move to jack up the fine for illegal protesting—to a hefty $9,500, reports the New York Times . Despite furious opposition, the measure could become law as early as next week. "We must protect people from extreme radical manifestations," said Putin, apparently desperate to prevent more demonstrations like those last December against some very dodgy election results. The law could have been a lot worse, though, as an earlier version called for fines as high as $47,000. More»

Putin Pulls Out of G8 Meeting, Stuns US

Re-elected Russian prez sending Medvedev to Camp David

(NEWSER) - Looks like the relationship between President Obama and President Putin might be off to a rocky start. The Russian leader has surprised the White House by saying he won't be attending the G8 summit at Camp David next week, reports the New York Times . Putin was recently elected for a third term as president after serving one term as prime minister, and the summit would have marked the first meeting between the two men as presidents. Putin—who sharply criticized the US during his re-election campaign—will meet Obama on the sidelines of the G20 conference in Mexico next month instead. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Putin's Seaside Palace: 8 Million Square Feet

Residence has casino, movie theater, amphitheater, pool, helipad...

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Russia • Vladimir Putin • corruption • Rasputin

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Novel About Corruption May Be Kremlin Official's Work

Close to Zero portrays bribes, fraud as commonplace in contemporary Russia

In Case Pen Is No Mightier, Russian Journos Want Guns

Novaya Gazeta 's work has earned it a grim legacy of dead reporters

New Russian Prez Digs Hard Rock, Putin

In Medvedev, quirky résumé masks loyal junior partner

Putin: Jack Protester Fines to Hulking $9.5K

Measure could become law next week

Putin Pulls Out of G8 Meeting, Stuns US

Re-elected Russian prez sending Medvedev to Camp David

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?