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Seven months ago, a Russian businessman came forward with
what he said was evidence that Russia�s Prime Minister Vladamir
Putin was, at great expense, building himself a luxurious
palace off the shores of the Black Sea, a charge the Russian
leader has denied.
Last week, a handful of environmentalists and political opposition
party members made their way to the site of Putin�s alleged
fairytale home to check out the mysterious place and assess
its environmental impact.
In January, the FRANCE 24 Observer�s website published an
article on the controversy triggered by photos published on
the internet of Putin�s seaside palace near the southern town
Paraskoveevka, on the Black Sea. The site also published comments
made by Sergei Kolesnikov, a Russian businessman who had been
involved in the building�s construction, and who maintained
that the prime minister was its true owner. Although officially
classified as a centre to be used for medical care, Kolesnikov
was able to use a paper trail detailing the building�s financing
to link it to Putin.
In the wake of these revelations, Putin�s spokesperson denied
any connection between the prime minister and the property.
In March, the palace and its surrounding land were bought
by the Russian millionaire, Alexander Ponomarenko. According
to Kilesnikov, the building�s sale was nothing more than a
smoke screen to conceal the property�s true owner, Vladimir
Putin.
A few months later, after realising that construction on the
controversial seaside estate was still going on, a group of
environmentalists from the Russian organisation Ekovakhta
and members of the Yabloko and Solidarnost political opposition
parties decided to launch a �public inspection� of the area.
On June 26, about a dozen or so ecologists and activists trespassed
onto the immense coastal property, ignoring the fence erected
around the site.
See also:
The
original publication
Human
Rights
YABLOKO
Against Corruption
Protection
of Environment
Sergei
Mitrokhin: tortures in the name of Christ. Sergei Mitrokhin�s
blog at the Echo Moskvi web-site, July 5, 2011
YABLOKO�s activists
arrested by �Putin�s country cottage� at the Black Sea Coast.
Press Release, June 25, 2011.
Tuapse printing
facility refused to print YABLOKO�s bulletin for the rally
obeying the order from the authorities. Press
Release, June 24, 2011.
YABLOKO�s
activists get imprisonment verdicts, Press Release, February
28, 2011
Young
YABLOKO activists hang a banner �Freedom to Political Prisoners!�
opposite of the Kremlin. Press Release, March 3, 2011.
Friendly
Oligarch Buys 'Putin' Palace . The Moscow Times, March 4,
2011.
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