Russia: Inside Putin’s ultra-luxurious renovated palace

Swimming pool, hot tub, personal chapel, French carpets, colorful paintings, impressive chandeliers are just some of the features that have become known for the how the magnificent palace is decorated of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin after 16 rooms and one basementworth over $1 billion which recently renovatedaccording to an investigation by Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Team.

Putting it together ancient and modern style, the fancy Gelendzhik Castle overlooking the Black Sea can hardly be compared in comfort and luxury to any other leader.

Putin, 71, was annoyed when investigative journalists working with his anti-corruption foundation Alexei Navalny (FBK) they discovered the fancy castle three years ago. In the midst of a scandal over the misuse of state funds, the Kremlin claimed it belonged to Putin’s childhood friend, Arkady Rotenburg, who told reporters he was creating a luxury “hotel-apartment.” But Putin’s “paparazzi” saw this as a smokescreen, and now a new leak appears to it shows how much the Russian president’s taste has changed after a major renovation he carried out.

THE Daily Mail presents photos of the interior of the renovated palace with many halls that were once deridedlike his pole-dancing which showed a stage with a pole in the middle and hookah, the casino, the water disco have been replaced.

These rooms have been replaced with one traditional church that has its own wooden throne for Putinalong with sacred religious images, according to recent research. One of them depicts the canonized prince Vladimir the Great -same name as Putin and historical hero – who more than a thousand years ago he was credited with the union of Ukraine and Russia.

“This is probably the unique room where the name of the real owner of this palace is directly mentioned»the investigation by the Navalny Group – formerly linked to the “murdered” opposition leader – said Alexei Navalny – and his independent Russian agency Proekt.

Putin’s personal church takes center stage with one gilded altar, marble floor and rich green patterns on the walls that offer a sober feel.

At the same time, they have appeared epic paintings of historical war scenes – showing a heroic Russia, for example at the Battle of Borodino in 1812, when Napoleon suffered heavy losses.

One of them includes part of one prominent Kremlin painting titled: “Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword!”

The most recent research on renovation of the palace was based on revelations by an employee who slipped from FSB guards to film the gigantic palace that was overflowing with luxury.

Research with insider sources confirms that it is not a hotel-apartment, as stated on the papers, but “a palace built for Vladimir Putin”.

He also revealed that “the reconstruction of the facility was carried out in the utmost secrecy.”

“Employees were being transferred in their work with chartered buses, but they were often not immediately allowed to enter the premises. They reached the checkpoint but were forced to wait for several hours without food or water. Inside, they banned the use of phones.”

Secret service officers are said to have constantly monitored their work.

The Navalny and Proekt Team reports add: “Just before the end of the work, one of the builders walked around the almost completed palace.”

“Contrary to strict prohibitions, this man managed and passed a phone and … videotaped the second floor, on which there are 11 bedrooms, and then went down to the first – the one where there used to be pole rooms, a casino, a gambling area and a disco in the water”.

These were replaced, he concluded, while the church had taken its place in the magnificent building.

They found French carpets that cost £87,000 and chandeliers of multiple value.

The video showed how the building had been shaped in a completely new direction, drawing inspiration from antiquity and with memories of Russia’s imperial past.

In one area where the living room is located, earth tones contrast with large rugs with traditional, colorful patterns.

THEi towering mirrors they gave extra depth to a large room with white walls and high ceilings.

War heroes also featured prominently in the President’s personal palace, depicted in oval portraits around the house.

When the Navalny team exposed Putin’s palace

Navalny’s team exposed the secret clifftop residence scandal in a 2021 film titled “Palace for Putin.” The story of the biggest bribe.’

In it, a mining engineer who worked on the clifftop palace said it was indeed built for the president and “there’s a whole ‘anthill’ in the rock below the house,” including a nuclear shelter.

THE underground maze includes a balcony overlooking the rock, overlooking the sea and a huge cellar.

Its construction was smarter than James Bond’s Dr No bunker, he said.

In August 2023, 69-year-old general Gennady Lopyrev, once close to Putin, who was the keeper of secrets about the construction of the palace, died mysteriously in prison. He fell ill suddenly – struggling to breathe – and doctors told him he had previously undiagnosed leukemia. Suspicions arose that he was poisoned just as he was eligible for parole.

The general was jailed for ten years in 2017 by a military court on charges of bribery and illegal possession of ammunition – charges he has always denied.