Putin’s luxury hideout has trout farm, helipads and ‘stolen’ waterfall
The Russian president claims his sole properties are a modest apartment and a garage — but drone video reveals a private estate twice the size of Monaco | WATCH
President Putin owns a secret luxury residence close to Russia’s border with Finland that contains a trout farm, helipads and a waterfall that was “stolen” from a national park, according to an opposition media outlet.
The heavily guarded property is located less than 20 miles from Finland, Nato’s newest member, in northern Russia’s Karelia region, according to the Dossier Center, a Russian investigative journalism project based in London. The grounds are also said to contain several yacht piers, multiple houses and a farm with cows for marbled beef production.
Drone footage of the residence shows three buildings on the shore of Lake Ladoga. The Dossier Center said that around four square kilometres of territory — an area twice the size of Monaco — had been closed off to the public to ensure Putin’s privacy.
Watch the drone video:
It also contains a four-metre waterfall that is supposed to be accessible to visitors to the Ladoga Skerries national park. However, access has been blocked off for outsiders while a gazebo at the residence provides close-up up views of the cascading waters. “It is for the only person who can steal a waterfall — the Russian president,” the Dossier Center said.
The exposé came as the Kremlin claimed that Putin’s sole properties were a 77 sqm apartment and an 18 sqm garage in St Petersburg. It also said he owned three cars, two of which were built in the 1960s, as well as a Soviet-made Skif camping trailer. His other car is a Lada Niva dating from 2009, the Kremlin claimed.
It also said last year that Putin’s yearly income was 10.2 million roubles (£90,000). Russian opposition figures have claimed that Putin, who has been in power for almost a quarter of a century, is one of the richest individuals in the world.
The declaration was published by Russia’s election committee after it had registered Putin as a “candidate” for rubberstamp presidential elections in March. It said he had just under 55.5 million roubles (£489,000) in his bank accounts.
Also visible in the footage is an artificial mound that appears to have been constructed in the past two years. Its exact purpose is unknown, but it is suspected to house a Pantsir anti-aircraft defence system. Air defence systems have been spotted at other residences used by Putin since he ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022.
The property contains three buildings, called the Fisherman’s Hut, the Barn and the Garden House, that were described as “mansions”. Motion sensors, barbed wire and surveillance cameras help keep the properties safe from prying eyes.
Putin is said to visit the residence at least once a year after praying at the nearby Valaam monastery, locals said. His security is ensured by the Kremlin’s guard service, while neighbouring islands are locked down for the duration of Putin’s stay.
The Dossier Center is funded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former Russian oligarch who spent ten years in prison after speaking out about high-level corruption. He was released early by Putin before the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and now lives in Britain.
The construction of the residence was financed by Yury Kovalchuk, a tycoon who is known as “Putin’s personal banker”, the outlet said. A neighbouring mansion is owned by Roman Abramovich, the former Chelsea owner, according to official records.
Putin is alleged to have about 20 properties across Russia, including a number of official residences. In 2021 an online investigation by Alexei Navalny, the opposition leader, said that Putin was the secret owner of a vast £1 billion palace on the coast of the Black Sea.
The Times
