Vladimir Putin has reportedly built a sprawling estate complete with bidets costing £8,000 each, a “stolen” waterfall and the framework for an air-defence system less than 20 miles from Russia’s border with Finland.
The secretive complex is nestled deep in the forests of the northern region of Karelia, according to the Dossier Centre, a Russian investigative organisation which tracks various people associated with the Kremlin.
Leaked details and aerial footage of the estate on the shores of Lake Ladoga’s Majalahti Bay revealed it was protected by round-the-clock security, barbed-wire fences, intelligence officers and drone jammers.
The estate houses three properties known as The Barn, The Fisherman’s Hut and The Garden House.
Leaked details previously suggested the extravagant properties are decorated with expensive bidets, shower heads costing £3,500 apiece and a floor made from Fior di Bosco Italian marble worth £85,000.
Russia threatened to take “counter-measures” against Finland for joining the Transatlantic military alliance in April last year.
Putin is believed to travel to the estate at least once a year, according to residents.
There is no doubt the president relaxes here,” a reporter for Dossier Centresaid in a video report.
“During his visits, the local security is replaced by Federal Guard Service employees, entrances are blocked off, and neighbouring islands are sealed off.”
The three houses boast two helipads, several jetties, a trout farm and a herd of cows for “marbled beef production”.
The grounds also house a factory kitted out with nearly £300,000 worth of Austrian brewing equipment capable of producing 82 pints of beer a day, and a second-floor tea room overlooking Lake Ladoga.
Vladimir Putin’s hideaway has several jetties for his yachts
Drone footage published alongside the report appeared to reveal a waterfall, which the Dossier Centre claims was “stolen” from the Ladoga Skerries National Park, which sits within the estate.
It is not clear how the outlet’s journalists managed to avoid security to gain access to the grounds. Normally, it is only accessible via boat or aircraft.
A large raised embankment which could be used to station an air-defence system is located at the back of the main property..
Vehicle tracks started appearing on the site shortly after it was constructed two years ago, further adding to the suggestion of surface-to-air missile systems being stationed there.
Putin’s residences across Russia are known to be protected by air-defence systems whenever he visits.
The Karelia estate was financed via companies linked to the Russian president’s associates and Kremlin-friendly oligarchs, the Dossier Centre claimed.
It said the owner of the estate was listed as Yury Kovalchuk, the chairman of Bank Rossiya, described by the US treasury as Putin’s “personal banker”.
He is said to run a network that looks after “the president’s leisure activities and all of his real estate”.
A nearby hotel is owned by Mr Kovalchuk, while a neighbouring residence is owned by Roman Abramovich, the Western sanctioned former owner of Chelsea Football Club.
Construction on the 1,000-acre estate, which is roughly twice the size of Monaco, began more than 10 years ago.
Putin has very few assets declared in his name, which include a small apartment in St Petersburg, two Soviet-era cars from the 1950s, a trailer and a small garage, alongside his presidential salary of about £110,000 a year.
After Dossier Centre’s report emerged, the head of Putin’s presidential campaign said on Tuesday that the majority of the Russian leader’s savings were made up of his annual salary.
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