Putin’s Black Sea ‘palace’ transformed into church: Report

A mansion on the Black Sea coast, often associated with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has reportedly been renovated to include a church equipped with a throne, according to a report by the Russian investigative outlet Proekt.

The outlet recently published videos of the "Putin's palace" following the renovations. The existence of the mansion was initially revealed in 2021 by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who claimed it featured a wine cellar, a casino, and an ice rink. Russia has not officially responded to the Proekt report. The palace is secluded from the rest of Russia by 17,000 acres of forest and a special no-fly zone.

"Many viewers of Navalny's video remembered the entertainment areas - with a pole, a casino, as well as a room with toy cars and a railway,"Proektsaid in its report.

The report also suggested that the renovations indicate Putin's strong interests in war and religion. The images reveal a private church within the residence adorned with a triptych and a wooden throne.

The walls are adorned with crosses, and the triptych is believed to depict "Saint Prince Vladimir," according to two art historians and an icon painter cited by Proekt. The outlet highlighted a chandelier made with red crystals from the French manufacturer Baccarat, valued at $1 million.

In his 2021 video, Navalny alleged that the property's cost amounted to $1.3 billion and claimed it was financed through a complex corruption scheme. This scheme allegedly involved Putin granting high-ranking positions and profitable government contracts to his allies in partially state-owned energy companies.

In 2021, thousands of Russians took to the streets following Navalny's revelation about Putin's Black Sea estate.

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However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had rejected the allegations in the report, dismissing them as"pure nonsense"at the time.

(With inputs from agencies)