Putin's Palace

"Putin's Palace" (Russian: «Дворец Путина», romanized: "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. 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 could not be revealed by the state. Following the film's release, 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 had 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 Volodymyr of Kiev.

Text adapted from “Putin's Palace” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Putin's Palace ranks #119 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #4 of the 141 mapped in Russia. Founded 2005 — one of 7 atlas entries founded in the 21st century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 79,026 times in the last 60 days, more than 100% of the atlas. See how Russia compares in the castle statistics.

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