Putin's Palace Explained
"Putin's Palace"[3] (Russian: "Дворец Путина"|translit="Dvorets Putina") is an Italianate palace complex located on the Black Sea coast near Gelendzhik, Krasnodar Krai, Russia.
The complex first came to public attention in 2010 after whistleblower Sergei Kolesnikov published an open letter to Russian president Dmitry Medvedev exposing the construction of the palace. Kolesnikov also stated that the undertaking was run by Nikolai Shamalov who was acting on behalf of Vladimir Putin.[4] Alexander Ponomarenko was later reported to have ownership.
The complex drew wider public attention in 2021, when Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's Anti Corruption Foundation (FBK) released an investigative documentary film about it which detailed a corruption scheme allegedly headed by Putin and claimed that the palace was built for the president's personal use. The FBK investigation estimated the cost of the build to be over 100 billion rubles (US$956 million) at 2022 prices. Putin denied that the palace belonged to him, with the Kremlin saying that it is a private venture owned by various businessmen whose names cannot be revealed by the state.[5] Following the release of the film, Arkady Rotenberg, who has close ties to Putin, claimed ownership of the palace.
In 2024, the Russian outlet Proekt reported that parts of the Palace have been reconverted, reconfiguring various entertainment rooms – such as a casino, pole-dancing room and room for miniature railroads – into lounging rooms and a chapel with a dedication to Saint Vladimir.[6]
Location and buildings
The residence is located at 44.419°N 38.205°W on Cape Idokopas, near the village of Praskoveyevka.[7] Cape Idokopas (Russian: Мыс Идокопас) is a promontory on the Black Sea coast of Russia near Gelendzhik, Krasnodar Krai. The headland is lined with cliffs but is mostly flat on its summit, which is heavily forested with Turkish pine trees. It is bordered by a reef that makes offshore navigation hazardous.[8]
The residence overlooks Russia's Black Sea coast, and is built on a block of land with a total area of 74ha.[9] The airspace around the palace (see image) is regulated as Prohibited Special Use Airspace P116 (i.e. a no-fly zone), which the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) stated was to protect an FSB border-post in the area from increased foreign intelligence activity.[10]
There are a vast number of buildings on the palace complex, including a house with an area of 17700sqm, an arboretum, a greenhouse, a helipad, an ice palace, a church, an amphitheater, a "tea house" (guest house), a gas station, an 80m (260feet) bridge, and a special tunnel inside the mountain with a tasting room.
The main building boasts a large indoor swimming pool, aquadiskotheque arrangement, spa, saunas, Turkish baths, meat and fish shops, vegetable and dessert shops, a warehouse, a reading room, a music lounge, a hookah bar, a theater, a cinema, a wine cellar, a casino, and about a dozen guest bedrooms. The master bedroom is 260sqm in size.[11]
The house was designed by the Italian architect Lanfranco Cirillo, who has designed properties for many of Russia's elite.[12]
Ownership
Russian government official Vladimir Kozhin told reporters from the Russian daily Kommersant that the Russian government had approved the construction of the estate by the Lirus group, and that the government maintained a stake in the project until 2008, when it sold its share.[13]
In March 2011, it was reported that Alexander Ponomarenko, a businessman and billionaire who made his money in sea ports, banking, commercial real estate and airport construction, acquired the company "Idokopas" which owned the palace.[14] [15] At the time of the purchase, Idokopas owned around 67 hectares of recreational land near the settlement of Praskoveyeka, including a guesthouse complex amounting to 26,000 square meters.
Ponomarenko said he had bought a second company, the Azure Berry Company (Russian: «Лазурная ягода»), which owned 60 hectares of agricultural land near Divnomorsk, a settlement 13 kilometers from Praskoveyevka. Ponomarenko bought the unfinished complex from Shamalov and his partners.[16] At the time of the purchase, Ponomarenko did not disclose the value of the deal, but hinted he had been able to purchase the property for a very good price – the asset was heavily encumbered with debts and the developers had run out of money to complete the project.[14]
When asked about the projected value of the complex once complete, he conceded that suggestions it could be as much as $350 million "were close to the truth".[14] [17] [18] According to Vedomosti, experts estimated the value of the property at $20 million.[19] In July 2011, the Azure Berry Company was sold to SVL Group, controlled by Boris Titov, the owner of sparkling wine factory "Abrau-Durso".[20] Ponomarenko's media representatives told Forbes in 2021 that Ponomarenko had withdrawn from the project in 2016.[21]
On 11 May 2016, RBC reported that Alexei Vasilyuk (Russian: Алексей Василюк), through his ownership of the Moscow registered LLC “Southern citadel” (Russian: ООО «Южная цитадель»), has exclusive rights since 25 March 2016 to the water along the coastline between Cape Idokopas and Divnomorskoye for the production of mussels and oysters and that on 20 April 2016 “Southern citadel” has received a 25-year lease to two land plots totaling along the Black Sea next to “Putin's Palace”.[22] [23]
The RBC article stated that Ponomarenko is the owner of “Putin's Palace” through his Complex LLC (Russian: ООО «Комплекс») which is the owner of the land under “Putin's Palace” since May 2013 and the owner of the structure “Putin's Palace” since March 2015 and that the British Virgin Islands firm Savoyan Investments Limited has been the owner of Complex LLC since September 2013.[23]
According to a 13 May 2016 The Moscow Times article, the exclusive ownership of the nearby coastline is to prevent ships from approaching the coastline near “Putin's Palace”.[22] On 3 March 2017, Alexander Ponomarenko obtained a 100% stake in “South Citadel” and obtained an additional two plots of land next to “Putin's Palace” and had the exclusive rights to the water along the coastline near “Putin's Palace”.[24]
On 30 January 2021, the billionaire Arkady Rotenberg, who has close links to Putin, said that he had purchased the estate "a few years ago." He also said that the property when completed would become an apartment hotel.[25] [26]
Corruption claims
Kolesnikov letter
In 2010, Russian businessman Sergei Kolesnikov wrote an open letter to Dmitry Medvedev, at that time the Russian President, stating that a dentist named Nikolai Shamalov was building a grand Black Sea estate for Putin[27] or Medvedev. Kolesnikov said the construction of the estate was draining funds available for his work, which included the state-commissioned renovations of hospitals in collaboration with Shamalov and businessman Dmitry Gorelov. Kolesnikov further said that he had worked on the estate project until he was removed because he voiced concerns about corruption, that the estate was still under construction, and the cost was one billion dollars, funded by bribery and theft.
In 2011, the Novaya Gazeta wrote that it had obtained a contract for the palace signed by the presidential property manager in 2005, when Putin was the Russian president. A website called the "Russian Wikileaks," RuLeaks.Ru, posted photographs of the estate, but could not confirm its ownership.[28] Medvedev replied that neither he nor Putin had any relationship to the property.[29]
Speaking to the BBC in 2012, Kolesnikov said that the estate was still under construction, and that the project was being organized sometimes by Shamalov, or sometimes by a deputy of the president, Igor Sechin. Kolesnikov said that Shamalov never questioned his role, adding, "There was a tsar - and there were slaves, who didn't have their own opinion." According to the BBC, the estate was owned by a company Shamalov partly owned, and it was unclear if Putin had any relationship to the property.
Financing claims
In Kolesnikov's initial letter and in subsequent media interviews, including to Novaya Gazeta, David Ignatius of The Washington Post, and Masha Gessen of Snob.ru, Kolesnikov provided an account of how the construction of the estate was financed by corruption.[30] [31] Kolesnikov said that in early 2000, Nikolai Terentievich Shamalov, a representative of the multinational company Siemens AG in North West Russia and somebody thought close to Russia's new President Vladimir Putin, approached Kolesnikov with a business proposition.[31]
The two men had known each other through business since 1993–1994, when Kolesnikov was deputy director general of Petromed, a St. Petersburg-based firm that specialised in the procurement of medical supplies. It was also through Petromed that Kolesnikov had gotten to know Putin, on whose behalf Shamalov said he made the approach. Putin had been head of the St. Petersburg Council on External Economic affairs, which held a 51% stake when Petromed became a private company in 1992.[31]
Kolesnikov told Masha Gessen that Putin held 94% of shares in Rosinvest, with Kolesnikov, Shamalov, and Dmitry Vladimirovich Gorelov (director of Petromed and another friend of Putin from his time in Saint Petersburg) taking 2% each. Rosinvest's interests included shipbuilding, construction, and lumber/timber processing.[31] Kolesnikov is reported as saying that Abramovich and the other donors to health projects acted 'nobly', implying they were unaware that a significant proportion of their donations was being diverted into an investment vehicle allegedly run for the benefit of the President and his partners in Rosinvest. This is despite the huge sums involved and disputed claims that the relationship between Putin and Abramovich has been very close.[32]
The chart above shows the scheme of interaction between companies and cash flows involved in financing of the construction, according to Kolesnikov.[33]
Investigations
In February 2011, members of the group "Environmental Watch for the North Caucasus" and a journalist visited the site to investigate concerns that the construction violated laws protecting the area's ecology. They said that they were harassed and detained by members of the Federal Protective Service (FSO), the agency responsible for guarding state property and high-ranking officials.[34]
Despite the confiscation of their equipment they were able to publish additional photographs of the site.[35] Activists made another sortie into the property in June 2011, when they claimed to have found an illegally constructed marina.[36]
Metro Style
Metro Style (Russian: «Метро-Стиль») published diagrams of its underground tunnel system.[37] [38] [39]
RBC investigation
The 11 May 2016 RBC article "Oyster farming will begin in front of the "Putin's palace" near Gelendzhik" (Russian: Напротив «дворца Путина» под Геленджиком начнут разводить устриц) revealed that Ponomarenko is the owner of "Putin's Palace".[22] [23] The publishing of the RBC article contributed to the firing by Mikhail Prokhorov, who has the majority ownership of the RBK Group after he purchased a 51% stake in it in 2009, of Maxim Solus, the editor-in-chief of RBC newspaper, which further resulted in the resignations of both Roman Badanin, rbc.ru's chief editor, and Yelizaveta Osetinskaya, RBC's chief editor.[22]
FBK investigation
See also: Putin's Palace. History of World's Largest Bribe. On 19 January 2021, two days after Alexei Navalny was detained by Russian authorities upon his return to Russia, an investigation by him and his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) was published accusing President Vladimir Putin of using fraudulently obtained funds to build the estate for himself in what he called "the world's biggest bribe." Navalny said that the estate is 39 times the size of Monaco and cost over 100 billion rubles ($1.35 billion) to construct. His video showed aerial footage of the estate via a drone and a detailed floorplan of the palace that Navalny said was given by a contractor, which he compared to photographs from inside the palace that were leaked onto the Internet in 2011. He also detailed an elaborate corruption scheme allegedly involving Putin's inner circle that allowed Putin to hide billions of dollars to build the estate.[40] [41] [42]
After Navalny's arrest and the release of his video, protests in support of Navalny began on 23 January 2021. In response to the claims, Putin said that the palace had never belonged either to him or his family.[43] [44]
The BBC Russian Service spoke to several construction workers who said they worked on the palace between 2005 and 2020, confirming several of the allegations made in the FBK investigation, including that the palace was being rebuilt due to mould.[45]
In January 2022, the FBK leaked 479 photographs of the palace while it was under construction. The photographs show the exterior and interior of the house including photographs of rooms that were described as a strip club and a hookah lounge.[46] [47]
Meduza investigation
Journalists from the online newspaper Meduza interviewed people who were involved in the construction of the residence.[48] Many interviewees said the residence is connected with Putin and is guarded by the FSO, who also supervise construction. Meduza had documents with the names and signatures of the FSO employees, including Colonel Oleg Kuznetsov. The article described vast and extravagant luxuries in the estate.[49]
Mash channel
On 29 January 2021, the pro-Kremlin[50] Mash Telegram channel gained access to the palace, which showed that the palace was under construction. While it attempted to contradict Navalny's claims, Navalny's team said that it supported their previous reporting that the palace had to be redone due to mold issues.[51]
BBC investigation
On 13 May 2021, BBC News Russian published its own investigation based on official documents of the sale and meeting notes.[52] [53]
See also
External links
44.4194°N 38.2056°W
Notes and References
- Web site: Ilyushina . Mary . Navalny releases investigation into decadent billion-dollar 'Putin palace . www.cnn.com . 20 January 2021 . CNN . 21 January 2021 . 20 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210120232109/https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/20/europe/putin-palace-navalny-russia-intl/index.html . live .
- Web site: 25 February 2011. Бизнесмен Колесников в первом видеоинтервью объяснился по поводу "дворца Путина". Businessman Kolesnikov in the first video interview explained about "Putin's palace". 30 January 2021. NEWSru. ru. 29 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210129040853/https://www.newsru.com/russia/25feb2011/kolesnikov.html. live.
-
- Web site: Smolentceva. Natalia. Barysheva. Elena. 21 January 2021. Russian activist says he toured Putin's rumored palace. 22 January 2022. Deutsche Welle. en.
- Web site: 30 January 2021. Billionaire Arkady Rotenberg says he owns Vladimir Putin's alleged seaside 'palace'. 22 January 2022. Meduza. en.
- Web site: 7 May 2024. An investigation into how Vladimir Putin has changed along with his palace. 18 July 2024. Proekt. En.
- News: Whewell . Tim . Putin's palace? A mystery Black Sea mansion fit for a tsar . 30 January 2021 . BBC . 4 May 2012 . 31 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210131143436/https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17730959 . live .
- Book: United States Hydrographic Office. Black Sea Pilot: The Dardanelles, Sea of Marmara, Bosporus, Black Sea and Sea of Azov. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1927.
- News: Vladimir Putin 'has £600 million Italianate palace' . Osborn . Andrew . 14 February 2011 . . 21 July 2011 . 12 August 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110812203426/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/8323981/Vladimir-Putin-has-600-million-Italianate-palace.html . live .
- News: . No-fly zone over Putin-linked palace is due to Nato spies, says FSB . Andrew . Roth . 27 January 2021 . 8 February 2021 . 4 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210204060018/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/27/no-fly-zone-putin-linked-palace-navalny-due-to-nato-spying-says-fsb . live .
- Web site: ru. Дворец для Путина. palace.navalny.com. 19 January 2021. 19 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210119132634/https://palace.navalny.com/. live.
- Web site: Параллельная реальность. newtimes.ru. 22 January 2021. 20 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210120095549/https://newtimes.ru/articles/detail/51230/. live.
- News: Vot chego-chego, a kontrolyorov u nas khvataet. Korobov. Pavel. April 2011. 13 May 2015. ru. Interview with Vladimir Kozhin: 'We have enough inspectors there'. Kashin. Oleg. 18 May 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150518155437/http://www.kommersant.ru/Doc/1625310. live.
- http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/realestate/article/friendly-oligarch-buys-putin-palace/432057.html Friendly Oligarch Buys 'Putin' Palace
- https://www.forbes.com/profile/alexander-ponomarenko/ Alexander Ponomarenko
- News: 'Putin palace' sells for $350 million . 3 March 2011 . . 22 July 2011 . Staff . Our Foreign . 10 March 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110310183620/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/8359527/Putin-palace-sells-for-350-million.html . live .
- Web site: 'Putin's Palace,' $350 Million Mansion Reportedly Owned By Russian Prime Minister, Sold To Tycoon . 4 March 2011 . . 29 July 2011 . 11 March 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110311064412/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/04/putins-palace-350-million_n_831480.html . live .
- Web site: Oligarch Buys 'Putin's Palace' . Oliphant . Roland . 9 March 2011 . . 29 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120329064139/http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?story_id=33675&action_id=2 . 29 March 2012 . dead .
- http://themoscownews.com/business/20110303/188465490.html The so-called 'Putin Palace' is sold
- https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1673641?query=лазурная%20ягода "Абрау-Дюрсо" пришлось ко дворцу Борис Титов купил виноградники санатория, считавшегося дачей премьер-министра
- Web site: Sheremetyevo announced the withdrawal of a businessman from the Forbes list from the "palace" project on the Black Sea. Forbes. 26 January 2021. 26 January 2021. 26 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210126140911/https://www.forbes.ru/newsroom/milliardery/419485-sheremetevo-soobshchilo-o-vyhode-biznesmena-iz-spiska-forbes-iz-proekta. live.
- News: Ardayeva . Anya . Three Top Managers Leave Russia's RBC Media . . 13 May 2016 . 27 March 2021 . 14 May 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160514105929/http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/three-top-managers-leave-russia-s-rbc-media/569412.html.
- News: Бурлакова . Екатерина (Burlakova, Ekaterina) . Пузырев . Денис (Puzyrev, Denis) . Напротив "дворца Путина" под Геленджиком начнут разводить устриц: ООО "Южная цитадель" получило для выращивания устриц и мидий 1 тыс. га акватории у мыса Идокопас под Геленджиком, у так называемого дворца Путина. Владелец "Южной цитадели" ранее работал в компании, управлявшей дворцом . Oyster farming will begin in front of the "Putin's palace" near Gelendzhik: LLC “Southern citadel” received 1,000 hectares of water area for growing oysters and mussels near Cape Idokopas near Gelendzhik, near the so-called Putin's palace. The owner of South Citadel previously worked for the company that operated the palace. . ru . «РБК» (RBC) . 11 May 2016 . 27 March 2021 . 2 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210202195453/https://www.rbc.ru/business/11/05/2016/5720c36e9a794766147f796d . live .
- News: Бурлакова . Екатерина (Burlakova, Ekaterina) . У устрично-мидиевой фермы в Геленджике тот же хозяин, что и у "дворца Путина": Хозяйство Александра Пономаренко уже приступило к производству моллюсков . The oyster-mussel farm in Gelendzhik has the same owner as the "Putin's palace": The farm of Alexander Ponomarenko has already started the production of shellfish . ru . . 9 March 2017 . 27 March 2021 . 8 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210208232319/https://www.vedomosti.ru/business/articles/2017/03/10/680586-ustrichno-midievoi-fermi-dvortsa-putina . live .
- Web site: Putin's former judo partner says he owns palace linked to Russian leader. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210130165914/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/30/vladimir-putin-former-judo-partner-says-he-owns-palace-linked-to-russian-leader. 30 January 2021. 30 January 2021. The Guardian. 30 January 2021 .
- Web site: 30 January 2021. Russian billionaire Arkady Rotenberg says 'Putin Palace' is his. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210130195745/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55872249. 30 January 2021. 30 January 2021. BBC News.
- https://www.reuters.com/investigates/russia/ Reuters Investigates
- News: Feifer . Gregory . 'Putin Palace' Pics: It's Good To Be The PM . 30 January 2021 . Transmission Blog . Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty . 21 January 2011 . 5 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210205024712/https://www.rferl.org/a/putin_mansion_photographs/2283270.html . live .
- News: Хреков не комментирует публикации о дворце, строящемся на Черном море. Ria Novosti. 14 February 2011. 30 January 2021. 24 February 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210224100722/https://ria.ru/20110214/334179991.html. live.
- News: Sergey Kolesnikov's tale of palatial corruption, Russian style . Ignatius . David . David Ignatius . 23 December 2010 . . 23 July 2011 . 20 January 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110120000343/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/22/AR2010122203770.html . live .
- Web site: http://www.snob.ru/selected/entry/37367 . ru:Сергей Колесников: Почему я рассказал про Дворец Путина. "Мы перешли границу между добром и злом в 2009 году" . 23 June 2011 . . ru . Sergey Kolesnikov: Why I told her about Putin's Palace. "We crossed the border between good and evil in 2009" . 22 July 2011 . 17 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110717154453/http://www.snob.ru/selected/entry/37367 . live .
- Web site: WikiLeaks cables: Roman Abramovich denies links with Vladimir Putin . Harding . Luke . 1 December 2010 . . 23 July 2011 . 20 September 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130920223149/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/01/wikileaks-roman-abramovich-vladimir-putin . live .
- Web site: Scheme of interaction between companies and cash flows (English, picture). 21 May 2015. Kolesnikov Palace Documents. hosted by Havighurst Center for Russian and Post-Soviet Studies. Oxford. Kolesnikov. Sergei. 22 May 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150522111312/http://miamioh.edu/cas/_files/documents/havighurst/kolesnikov-general/scheme-of-interaction.pdf. live.
- Web site: http://www.ewnc.org/node/6224 . ru:АКТИВИСТЫ ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКОЙ ВАХТЫ И ЖУРНАЛИСТ ЗАБЛОКИРОВАНЫ СОТРУДНИКАМИ ФСО, ПОГРАНСЛУЖБЫ И МИЛИЦИИ ВОЗЛЕ ПРЕДПОЛАГАЕМОЙ ДАЧИ ПУТИНА НА МЫСЕ ИДОКОПАС . 11 February 2011 . Environmental Watch on North Caucasus . ru . Environmental activists and Watch staff reporter detained by FSO, and border policemen nearby imply Putin's dacha at Cape Idokopas . 22 July 2011 . 26 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110726175940/http://www.ewnc.org/node/6224 . live .
- Web site: http://ewnc.info/node/6001 . ru:Активисты ЭкоВахты посетили дворец Путина на мысе Идокопас . 11 February 2011 . Environmental Watch on North Caucasus . ru . EcoWatch Activists visited Putin's palace at Cape Idokopas . 22 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110810130327/http://www.ewnc.info/node/6001 . 10 August 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Environmentalists crash 'Putin's seaside palace' . 7 May 2011 . . 23 July 2011 . 9 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110709223235/http://observers.france24.com/content/20110705-russia-environmentalists-trespass-prime-minister-putin-palace-black-sea . dead.
- News: Комплекс подземных сооружений для пансионата в г. Геленджик Краснодарского края . A complex of underground structures for a boarding house in the city of Gelendzhik, Krasnodar Territory . ru . «Метро-Стиль» (Metro-Style) (www.metro-style.ru) . 2014 . 3 July 2023 . 13 April 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160413195343/http://www.metro-style.ru/content/72/tonneli/kompleks-podzemnyh-sooruzhenii-dlja-pansionata-v-g-gelendzhik-krasnodarskogo-kraja.html.
- News: Schwartz . Mattathias . Carrier . Anastasiia . Revealed: Vladimir Putin's secret Black Sea bunker . . 16 May 2023 . 3 July 2023.
- News: Ромашенко . Сергей (Romashenko, Sergey) . Business Insider опубликовал схемы "бункера Путина": По сообщению издания The Business Insider, схемы "дворца Путина" находились в свободном доступе в сети как минимум с 2016 года. На них видно, что под зданием находятся укрепленные помещения и тоннели. . Business Insider has published schemes of "Putin's bunker": According to The Business Insider, blueprints for Putin's palace have been freely available online since at least 2016. They show that under the building there are fortified rooms and tunnels. . ru . . 17 May 2023 . 3 July 2023. Archived on 17 May 2023 as Бункер под "дворцом Путина" в Геленджике: Защищенный комплекс в скале глубиной 50 м с 2 туннелями, лифтами, траволатором и 6 шахтами для подачи воздуха (Bunker under "Putin's Palace" in Gelendzhik: Protected complex in the rock 50 m deep with 2 tunnels, elevators, travolator and 6 air shafts).
- Web site: Navalny Targets 'Billion-Dollar Putin Palace' in New Investigation. The Moscow Times. 19 January 2021. 19 January 2021. 19 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210119160300/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/01/19/navalny-targets-billion-dollar-putin-palace-in-investigation-released-after-jailing-a72661. live.
- Web site: ФБК опубликовал огромное расследование о "дворце Путина" в Геленджике. Вот главное из двухчасового фильма о строительстве ценой в 100 миллиардов. Meduza.io. 19 January 2021. 19 January 2021. 19 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210119162405/https://meduza.io/feature/2021/01/19/fbk-opublikoval-ogromnoe-rassledovanie-o-dvortse-putina-v-gelendzhike-vot-glavnoe-iz-dvuhchasovogo-filma-o-stroitelstve-tsenoy-v-100-milliardov. live.
- Web site: ФБК опубликовал расследование о "дворце Путина" размером с 39 княжеств Монако. tvrain.ru. 19 January 2021. 19 January 2021. 19 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210119222256/https://tvrain.ru/news/fbk_opublikoval_rassledovanie_o_dvortse_putina_razmerom_s_39_knjazhestv_monako-522873/. live.
- Web site: Vladimir Putin: Palace in Navalny report 'doesn't belong to me' DW 25 January 2021. Deutsche Welle. en-GB. 26 January 2021. 19 February 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210219193913/https://www.dw.com/en/vladimir-putin-palace-in-navalny-report-doesnt-belong-to-me/a-56335181. live.
- News: Putin denies Navalny allegation he owns Black Sea palace . 30 January 2021 . France24 . 25 January 2021 . 29 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210129124511/https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20210125-putin-denies-navalny-allegation-he-owns-black-sea-palace . live .
- News: 12 February 2021. 'Putin's palace': Builders' story of luxury, mould and fake walls. en-GB. BBC News. 15 February 2021. 16 February 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210216052712/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56007943. live.
- Web site: 479 leaked photos purporting to show Putin's secret palace, with an ice rink and pole-dancing room, published by Navalny foundation. Bostock. Bill. 21 January 2022. Business Insider. en-US. 22 January 2022. live. https://archive.today/20220121182741/https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-palace-leak-479-photos-navalny-ice-rink-pole-dancing-2022-1. 21 January 2022.
- Web site: Real photos of 'Putin's palace' Alexey Navalny's researchers say they've corroborated a bombshell report on the Russian president's alleged seaside residence. 20 January 2022. Meduza. en. 22 January 2022. live. https://archive.today/20220122062254/https://meduza.io/en/feature/2022/01/20/real-photos-of-putin-s-palace. 22 January 2022.
- Web site: Yapparova . Lilia . Dmitriev . Denis . Kovalev . Alexey . Alexey Kovalev (journalist) . Maglov . Mikhail . 29 January 2021 . Igumenov . Valery . Scanner Project; Translated by Kevin Rothrock . It's good to be the president . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210131004428/https://meduza.io/en/feature/2021/01/29/it-s-good-to-be-the-president . 31 January 2021 . 30 January 2021 . Meduza.
- Web site: Yapparova. Lilia. Dmitriev. Denis. Kovalev. Alexey. Maglov. Mikhail. Igumenov. Valery. Edited by Alexey Kovalev. Если человек — президент, ему все можно. If a person is a president, he can do anything. 30 January 2021. Meduza. ru. 29 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210129121520/https://meduza.io/feature/2021/01/29/esli-chelovek-prezident-emu-vse-mozhno. live.
- News: Khurshudyan. Isabelle. Dixon. Robyn. 31 January 2021. Russia cracks down on Navalny protests, locking down city centers and arresting thousands. The Washington Post. dead. 12 February 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210212195531/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/russia-navalny-protests-putin/2021/01/31/c96ff86c-5ffb-11eb-a177-7765f29a9524_story.html. 12 February 2021. 0190-8286.
- Web site: 29 January 2021. Kremlin-Aligned Media Confirms 'Putin Palace' Still Under Construction. 12 February 2021. The Moscow Times. 4 February 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210204233126/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/01/29/kremlin-aligned-media-confirms-putin-palace-still-under-construction-a72776. live.
- Web site: Rothrock. Kevin. 13 May 2021. Who needs owners with sales like these? BBC obtains records further corroborating Alexey Navalny's investigation into 'Putin's Palace'. 22 January 2022. Meduza. en.
- Web site: Zakharov. Andrey. 13 May 2021. "Ш. - формальный владелец": как меняли собственника "дворца Путина". "Sh. is the formal owner": how the owner of "Putin's palace" was changed. 22 January 2022. BBC News Russian. ru.