Dossier: Russian Prime Minister Mishustin's summer vacation cost taxpayers $500,000

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According to Dossier Center, it has been discovered that the Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, took a secret vacation from August 8 to 14, 2022, which reportedly incurred a cost of 40 million rubles ($500,000). During this period, the government press service was releasing pre-recorded materials of meetings, giving the impression that the head of the government was working.

Dossier received information about Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin's undisclosed vacation on the banks of Lake Teletskoye in Altai from a former FSO officer, Gleb Karakulov, who left his post in October and fled abroad. Based on Karakulov's intel, the Prime Minister attended some events in Gorno-Altaisk on August 12, but otherwise spent the remaining days solely on relaxation.

“Mishustin and his entourage procured the entire Altay Village Teletskoe resort for themselves, where prices are exorbitant, reaching up to 300,000 rubles ($3,800) a day for a single house. All the cottages were reserved. I was present there with the Prime Minister during that week. It raises a question: how did they afford such a lavish vacation? My calculation suggests that it could have cost around 50 million rubles ($630,000). If the expenses were covered by the budget, then isn't it a little bit too much for one person?”

Karakulov, however, admitted that the vacation could have been a “present” to Mishustin from the resort's owners. Dossier uncovered that the resort is owned by business entities with connections to businessman Suleiman Kerimov.

After conducting their own research, journalists estimated that renting the cottages alone for a week would have amounted to at least 21 million rubles ($260,000). A single breakfast at a local restaurant, which offers delicacies made from endangered red deer, would cost no less than a thousand rubles ($13), and a bottle of wine could be priced from 10,000 to 50,000 rubles ($130-$650). Additional expenses such as renting boats, quad bikes, helicopters, spa visits, and other amenities would incur separate charges. Based on the findings of Dossier, it is believed that the total cost of the vacation for Mishustin and his group was at least 40 million rubles ($500,000).

The combined official income of Mishustin and his wife for 2021 was 82 million rubles ($1.03 million).