Social media posts claim that an image of a futuristic, angular house in a forest the house of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia, is not based on the fact. The image is rather the perception of an architect about what Putin’s house might look like.
Examples of postings that make this claim can be found here and here.
Early allegations that the structure was a real Putin house include an April 3 tweet from an account called RuralLiberal @hiraethresists which reads: ‘Putin’s house in Sochi, Russia, designed by Roman Vlasov # EvilBuildings’here).
The image in question was the creation of a Russian architect named Roman Vlasov, who shared it on his Instagram (here) with the caption “PUTIN HOUSE / or a story about what his villa might look like / by @_vlasov_roman_” and hashtags, #design and #concept.
Reuters Fact Check reaches Roman by e-mail, confirming that the image represents his vision of Putin’s house, and that he has nowhere written that the house is the president’s real property.
Reuters also commented at the presidential press office, but did not receive a timely response for the publication of this article.
VERDICT
Misrepresented. This image is not based on fact and is not Putin’s house, but an architect’s conceptual design of what Putin’s house might look like.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to actually check social media posts.