In 2021, an investigation led by imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny showed details of an opulent estate said to belong to Russian president Vladimir Putin. A BBC report offers more context on the controversy over the building — including what Navalny described as “the largest bribe in history,” namely that the building had been funded by wealthy Russians paying for access to Putin.
At the time, Putin denied reports that the palace was his.
Now, however, more details have emerged on the structure. A new article at Insider points to a new video posted on Navalny’s Instagram account, as well as a video uploaded to YouTube and a folder on Google Drive with almost 500 images. As of this writing, the former has been viewed over five million times.
The caption for Navalny’s Instagram post is in Russian; run through Google Translate, it reads as follows:
“Crap. Here I am writing a post, and I myself am languishing and dying from the desire to look at what I am writing about.
“But the only chance to see it in a decent version is if someone makes such postcards and sends me to the zone.
“In general, you already knew that we are great, and Putin is a thief and a liar. But one more piece of evidence wouldn’t hurt, right?
“We present to you 500 DOCUMENTARY PHOTOS from Putin’s palace, which I told you about a year ago. Everything was confirmed, right down to the pole in the strip club.
“Plus, we again prove with documents that this is Putin’s palace – state-owned companies continue to pay for everything. Bonus – a detailed analysis of the building of Putin’s estate, where he has, in particular, a “room for teppanyaki ceremonies.”
“A year ago you helped us. They didn’t just demolish censorship, but trampled it and wiped it into dust. Everyone saw the investigation about the palace, and propaganda had to lie desperately for half a year more in order to somehow save the image of Grandfather from the water disco.
“Let’s try this time. Everyone’s contribution is important: posts, reposts, stories, tiktoks. Show grandma. In general, see for yourself and show everyone! 💪”
The images are, in a word, opulent. The palace features luxurious furnishings, a theater and an area for pole-dancing. It’s a lot. And it’s not hard to think that this latest batch of images should spark even further controversy regarding corruption in the world of Russian politics.
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