

Wikileaks has a generated a lot of furor all over the world and Russia has not been immune to the phenomenon either. Ruleaks.net is a website that puts Russian translations of Wikileaks cables online came up with something original as on 18th January, 2011. What made it an instant hit were the first photographs of a luxury mansion which is allegedly owned by Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin. While there are no solid proofs to back their claims, but RuLeaks.net goes on to say that the $1 billion palatial house on the Black Sea was made for the prime minister’s personal use.



This is however not the first time that the ‘Putin Palace’ is in news, last year Sergey Kolesnikov told the Washington Post that the palace was funded by donations from Russian businessmen. Writing an open letter to the Russian President, Kolesnikov cites the Transparency International study that shows how corruption amounts to $250 billion to $300 billion annually.

Construction of the palace began in 2005 and has been constructed by Russia’s biggest state construction company known as ‘Spetsstroy of Russia’. The palace with lavish interiors also houses an amphitheater and three helipads. For the complete work, click here.













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[TheRichtimes]