Inside Putin’s secret £100m palace where he is ‘trying to become immortal’ | World | News
Vladimir Putin is accused of secretly taking over a £100 million ultra-luxury palace on the edge of a cliff in occupied Crimea, complete with a private hospital, operating theatre, cryo chamber and gold-plated bathroom fixtures.
The unveiling of advanced healthcare equipment comes after Putin was caught discussing the possibility of “permanent transplantation of human organs, making people younger and perhaps even immortal.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping replied: “By the end of this century, people may live to be 150.”
The sprawling complex, tucked away at Cape Agia at the southern tip of the Black Sea peninsula, was originally built for Ukraine’s ousted president, Viktor Yanukovych.
It has since been transformed into what investigators describe as a “huge palace” belonging to the Russian dictator, according to an investigation carried out by the team of the Kremlin’s ‘murdered’ foe Alexei Navalny.
The main house alone is 96,875 square feet, with a second cliffside building of approximately 53,820 square feet hidden beneath landscaped gardens.
There is a private promenade, pier and white-sand artificial beach, while a new helipad sits higher up the hillside.
According to project documents and photos, the interiors are lavish even by Putin standards at his other palaces, including Valdai, which Ukrainian drones allegedly tried to attack this week, and Gelendzhik, a larger Black Sea cliff-top residence that has been likened to the lair of a James Bond villain.
Navalny’s team said, “The excess of luxury is starting to make you a little nauseous.”
There are two “royal bedrooms” in separate wings.
Putin’s master bedroom alone is 2,600 square feet and has a 538-square-foot bathroom.
The “bedroom” is “about the size of three standard two-room apartments”.
“Using a golden ladder and holding a golden handrail, you can climb into a golden whirlpool and watch it in a relaxed state. [Putin-controlled state TV’s] Channel One.”
The cost of flower-shaped bathroom fixtures is about 3 million rubles [£28,330]Researchers say.
“For this amount you can buy a studio apartment, for example [Russian resort] Sochi.”
But the total cost of taps, toilet roll holders and robe hooks in each of the main bathrooms is £104,000.
There is a women’s bedroom, presumably belonging to Putin’s long-time girlfriend Alina Kabaeva, 42, and bedrooms for their ten- and six-year-old sons.
There is also an aide-de-camp for the henchmen of Putin’s Federal Protection Service.
One entire floor consists of a private hospital; This feature was also noticed in other palaces and once again raised questions about the health of the 73-year-old warehouse.
It consists of a general practitioner’s examination room, an ENT doctor’s office, a dental office and a full-scale operating room equipped with state-of-the-art German and Finnish medical equipment.
“There is an ultrasound machine that costs 2 million rubles [£17,400]examination and massage table, a large number of diagnostic and testing equipment, electrocardiograph, physiotherapy equipment, etc.
Putin’s obsession with his health is clear.
The researchers noted “a neuromuscular stimulation device and equipment for analyzing the state of the masticatory muscles and the movement trajectory of the lower jaw.
“You can reach the operating room further down the corridor.
“There is an operating table there that costs 4 million rubles [£34,800]next to a fan [mechanical ventilation unit]defibrillator, anesthesia machine and equipment to monitor the patient’s condition.
“An X-ray unit, gastroscopy and colonoscopy equipment and much more.”
The palace is equipped with air circulation UV sterilizers and contrast plunge pools.
“The queen of Putin’s residences and yachts, his eternal companion and the big red flag denoting the owner of this luxurious palace: the cold room. Putin is rejuvenated here at -110°C,” said anti-corruption campaigner Maria Pevchikh.
The report said: “In our experience, there is only one person who admires these devices and persistently installs them in residential areas: Vladimir Putin.”
In the basement there is an “entertainment area. There is an intimate eight-seat cinema.”
According to financial records reviewed by Navalny’s team, the palace was financed through the same network used for Putin’s luxury Gelendzhik estate.
“Both palaces were paid in the same way, from the same purses, almost simultaneously.”
The total cost is estimated at around 10 billion rubles (about £100 million)
“And this 10 billion is a bribe to President Putin.”
Ownership is through a network of companies linked to the dictator’s oligarch friends who prospered during his rule.
It was reserved as a sanatorium after it was taken from Yanukovych, who now lives in exile in Russia, but instead fell into the hands of Putin.
Investigators of the late Navalny concluded that the Cape Aya palace is another symbol of uncontrolled power and corruption in Russia.
They ask: “Why does Putin need 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”.
