New joint investigation returns to ‘Putin’s palace’ with hidden camera for updated tour of Russian president’s billion-dollar hideout

A joint investigation from the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and Proekt has revealed new developments in Vladimir Putin’s so-called “palace” on the Black Sea coast near Gelendzhik, in Russia’s Krasnodar region. The construction of the Italianate palace complex first came to the public’s attention in 2010 through an open letter sent to then-President Dmitry Medvedev from whistleblower Sergey Kolesnikov. In January 2021, Alexey Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation returned the billion-dollar property to the spotlight in a documentary film that has now been viewed on YouTube more than 132 million times. For its latest report, FBK obtained four hours of hidden-cam videos recorded inside the palace by “our brave agent,” the foundation says. The new footage reveals never-before-seen details inside the complex and several remodeling changes carried out after Navalny’s bombshell investigation three years ago.

In 2021, days after the Anti-Corruption Foundation released its first documentary film describing how Russia’s president embezzled and cheated his way to a private mansion worth roughly $1 billion, billionaire and longtime Putin associate Arkady Rotenberg told a pro-Kremlin media outlet that he, in fact, owns the seaside residence. Rotenberg said the site would open “in two or three years” as an “apartment hotel” — in other words, as a getaway for the spectacularly rich.

Three years later, the most recent renovations to the complex are long finished, but “Putin’s palace” is still exactly that — a palace, not a hotel, according to investigators at FBK and Proekt. However, blueprints published by Proekt (acquired from Velesstroi, the construction company that was hired for the remodeling work) show that the designers did at least bother to rename many of the rooms in the palace. As a result, the bedrooms are now listed as “apartments,” the music room and reading room are now the “lobby,” and the dining room has ascended to “restaurant.”

FBK and Proekt identified significant changes in the paintings displayed in the palace’s common spaces. The relatively neutral romantic frescoes are now reproductions of paintings of historical battles, such as the Battle of Borodino in 1812 and the Battle on the Ice in 1242. Step into what was the music room, and you’ll now find artwork devoted to famous Russian naval figures like Pavel Nakhimov and Fyodor Ushakov.

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The palace’s new interior also suggests that Vladimir Putin has a renewed interest in God: In place of the gambling and gaming room, there is now a chapel (though FBK says some of the old design’s “not very Orthodox” style remains). The wall of icons and religious paintings in the chapel indicates that it is named after Prince Vladimir, the grand prince of Kiev who converted to Christianity in 988 and Christianized Kievan Rus. The chapel also has a stasidia pew for sitting during lengthy services. (In the Russian Orthodox tradition, this is technically a throne intended for the tsar.)

There are 11 bedrooms located upstairs, and the primary rooms alone occupy roughly 275 square meters (2,960 square feet). In these quarters, you’ll find more statues, busts, and the finest in foreign products. Building materials for the palace were purchased from the German company Knauf, the Finnish company Tikkurila, and the French company Ananbo. There’s plumbing from the German companies Jorger, Tece, Emco, and Hansgrohe; the Italian companies Gessi and Vismara Vetro; the Swiss companies Geberit and Laufen; and the Japanese company Omoikiri. The palace has light fixtures from the Italian company Flos, the Spanish companies Mantra and Aromas del Campo, the Belgian company Modular, and the Chinese company Osram, as well as luxury chandeliers from the French companies Baguès and Baccarat, the British company Vaughan, and the Italian companies Arizz, Estro&Luminara, and Il Paralume Marinai. Proekt also found exclusive furniture from the Italian brands Zanaboni, Scappini & C, Salda, Provasi, Roberto Giovannini, OAK, Mobili Di Castello, Angelo Cappellini, Andrea Fanfani, and Medea.

According to FBK, the money needed to construct and maintain Putin’s Black Sea palace still comes from state companies under the guise of non-existent services. For example, investigators say two Transneft subsidiaries pay 660 million rubles ($7.3 million) a year to rent certain non-residential premises in the palace.

The Anti-Corruption Foundation’s new investigation ends with a nod to its January 2021 documentary film, which Alexey Navalny narrated. The videos provided to FBK include footage recorded inside one of the bathrooms used by the palace construction workers, and scribbled on the wall above a filthy toilet are the words: “Lyokha [Alexey], you were right!”