Vladimir Putin is facing allegations of covertly acquiring an extravagant £100 million mansion perched on a cliff in Crimea, complete with amenities such as a private hospital, operating room, cryotherapy chamber, and bathrooms adorned with gold fixtures.
The vast estate, nestled at Cape Aya on the southern edge of the Black Sea peninsula, was initially constructed for Ukraine’s former president, Viktor Yanukovych.
Now, investigators claim it has been converted into what they describe as “a massive palace” for the Russian leader, according to research conducted by the team of Alexei Navalny, a prominent Kremlin critic who was allegedly poisoned.
The main residence alone spans an impressive 96,875 square feet, complemented by a secondary structure of nearly 53,820 square feet, discreetly situated beneath beautifully landscaped gardens.
The property boasts a private walkway, pier, and an artificial beach with pristine white sand, accompanied by a newly installed helipad further up the incline.
Interiors, depicted in project plans and photographs, exhibit opulence even by Putin’s standards, surpassing his other estates such as the one in Valdai—which he recently claimed was targeted by Ukrainian drones—and the larger cliff-top dwelling in Gelendzhik along the Black Sea.
‘The sheer excess of luxury starts to make one feel slightly nauseous,’ said the Navalny team.
There are two ‘royal bedrooms’ in separate wings.
Vladimir Putin has been accused of secretly grabbing an ultra-luxury £100 million palace on the edge of a cliff in occupied Crimea
Putin’s new secret palace is said to be complete with a private hospital wing and a private artificial white sand beach and gold-plated interiors
The sprawling complex is tucked away at Cape Aya at the southern tip of the Black Sea peninsula
The main Putin bedroom alone measures 2,600 sq ft with a 538 sq ft bathroom.
The ‘boudoir’ is ‘about the size of three standard two-room flats’.
‘Using a golden ladder and holding a golden handrail, one can climb into a golden jacuzzi and, in a relaxed state, watch [Putin-controlled state TV’s] Channel One.’
Bathroom fittings shaped like flowers cost the equivalent of £28,330 investigators say.
‘For that amount you could buy a studio flat, for example in [Russian resort] Sochi.’
But the total cost of taps, toilet-paper holders and robe hooks is £104,000 in each of the main bathrooms.
There is a woman’s bedroom, presumably for Putin’s longtime lover Alina Kabaeva, 42, and bedrooms for their sons aged ten and six.
There is also an adjutant’s room for Putin’s Federal Protective Service flunky.
The main Putin bedroom alone measures 2,600 sq ft with a 538 sq ft bathroom
The interiors, according to project documents and photographs, are lavish even by Putin’s standards
An entire floor comprises a private hospital – a feature also noted at his other palaces, again raising questions over the 73-year-old depot’s health.
It comprises a GP’s consulting room, an ENT doctor’s office, a dental surgery and a full scale operating theatre – equipped by state of the art German and Finnish medical devices.
There is ‘an ultrasound machine costing 2 million roubles [£17,400], an examination and massage table, a large amount of diagnostic and test equipment, an electrocardiograph, physiotherapy equipment, and so on’.
Putin’s obsession with his health is clear.
Researchers noted ‘a neuromuscular stimulation device, and equipment for analysing the condition of the chewing muscles and the movement trajectory of the lower jaw.
‘Further along the corridor you can reach the operating theatre.
‘There is an operating table there costing 4 million roubles [£34,800], alongside a ventilator [mechanical ventilation unit], a defibrillator, an anaesthesia machine, and equipment for monitoring the patient’s condition.
‘An X-ray unit, equipment for gastroscopy and colonoscopy, and a great deal more besides.’
The palace is kitted with air-recirculating UV sterilisers and contrast plunge pools
There is a woman’s bedroom, presumably for Putin’s longtime lover Alina Kabaeva, 42, and bedrooms for their sons aged ten and six. Pictured: Putin with Kabeva
The palace is kitted with air-recirculating UV sterilisers and contrast plunge pools.
‘The queen of Putin’s residences and yachts, his eternal companion and the big red flag pointing to the owner of this luxurious palace: the cryochamber. Here Putin rejuvenates at –110°C,’ said anti-corruption campaigner Maria Pevchikh.
The report said: ‘In our experience, there is only one person who adores these devices and insistently installs them in residential spaces: Vladimir Putin.’
In the basement is an ‘entertainment zone. There is an intimate cinema for eight people.’
According to financial records examined by Navalny’s team, the palace was funded through the same network used for Putin’s lavish Gelendzhik estate.
‘Both palaces were paid for in exactly the same way, from the same wallets, at roughly the same time.’
The total cost is estimated at around 10 billion roubles – almost £100 million
‘And those 10 billion are a bribe to President Putin.’
The ownership is through a web of companies linked to the dictator’s oligarch cronies who have become wealthy during his rule.
Pictured: Another of Putin’s palaces in Gelendzhik, south of Russia
Pictured: Putin’s main Valdai resident in Russia’s Novgorod region
After being seized from Yanukovich – who now lives in exile in Russia – it was earmarked as a sanatorium but instead fell into Putin’s hands.
The late Navalny’s investigators conclude that the Cape Aya palace is yet another symbol of unchecked power and corruption in Russia.
They ask: ‘Why does Putin need yet another palace? How many palaces does one man need?’
Putin and his friends ‘have stolen so much in a quarter of a century that it can no longer be spent’.
