An investigation by the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBC) by Alexei Navalny has revealed new information about another of Vladimir Putin’s supposedly lavish homes, complete with stables, a golf course and an extensive spa complex that includes a cryo room.
Using satellite and drones, industry footage, photos and other data, investigators uncovered floorboards and some of the first photos of an extensive residence near Valdai, which they said were Putin’s favorite and secret.
They allege that the house was partly rented from one of Putin’s closest allies on taxpayers’ money. While some of the property along the shore is state-owned and designated for official use, a more lavish section with a mansion has been privately developed into a playground for the health-conscious head of state.
The investigation focuses in particular on a 7,000 square meter (75,000 square meter) spa complex whose floor plan shows a pool, massage rooms, a swimming pool and other amenities, such as a cryotherapy room for extremely cold treatment, for rent . of a company that allegedly belongs to one of Putin’s good friends.
Company statements showed that the owner of the complex had earned more than 2.7 billion rubles (25.8 million pounds) over the past decade.
The investigation was released while Navalny was on hunger strike in a Russian prison and his supporters are being pressured by the government not to continue protests against his two-and-a-half year sentence on charges of embezzlement not.
The emails of more than 500,000 Navalny supporters, many of whom signed up online to attend new protests against the Kremlin, were leaked to journalists by an anonymous group this week. It calls the Navalny team ‘losers’ and claims that the database is very populated with bots.
Navalny’s team confirmed that the leaked database was genuine, but did not say whether any of the emails were managed by automated accounts. It apologized to those on the list, saying the leak contained only emails and no other personal information. The leak occurred when Navalny’s team was collecting 500,000 online signatures to launch new protests in which the opposition leader is being released.
‘[The database] is really in contrast to the forgeries released earlier, ”wrote Ivan Zhdanov, the group’s director. “It happens now, when the campaign only needs 70,000 more signatures and every confirmation to attend the protests is much harder for us to collect.”
Navalny posted online in a message on Friday, saying he was threatened with being forced into a straitjacket unless he ended a hunger strike in protest of his treatment in a Russian prison. He demanded that he be seen by his doctor because of numbness in his back and legs, which he said was related to the poisoning attempt on his life that took place last year.
His wife said earlier this week that he looked slender during his meeting with her and that he had lost about 16 kg since arriving at a prison colony about 60 km east of Moscow last month.
“He is still just as cheerful and upbeat as ever,” Yulia Navalnaya wrote in an online report on Wednesday. However, he speaks with difficulty, and from time to time he hangs up the phone and leans on the table to take a breather. He has lost a lot of weight … and weighs 76 kg. ‘
Some of the anger over the Kremlin has been sparked by a previous investigation into a Black Sea dacha that would cost almost £ 1 billion and was set up for the special use of the president, although recent photos suggest that it is no longer in use. The home flourished like an ‘aqua disco’ and a wine cave dug into a cliff overlooking the Black Sea.
The search for the home, called Putin’s Palace, took place after Navalny’s arrest when he returned to Russia in January and showed that the opposition leader remained a danger to the Kremlin, even while behind bars.
The authors of the new investigation concluded it with an appeal to his freedom. “Putin has illegally imprisoned Navalny for telling the truth about his corruption, lies and ambiguity. We will continue to tell this truth. ”