Inside the opulent chambers: Putin's Kremlin lifestyle revealed
Vladimir Putin has, for the first time, shown the interiors of his Kremlin residence to a wider audience. The honour of seeing everything up close was granted to reporter Pavel Zarubin.
The men enter a large room decorated with gilded walls, large mirrors in gold frames, golden chandeliers, and exotic-looking plants. The first thing that catches the eye is a large portrait of Tsar Alexander III, which stands on a table. In the centre of the room, there are light-coloured sofas.
By the window, there's a piano, which, as Putin himself admits, he rarely has the opportunity to play.
In the following shots, Putin shows the journalist a library lined with dark wood, two bedrooms, and a small "home chapel." Back in March 2023, during a conversation with the propaganda programme "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin," the dictator admitted that the informal part of negotiations with the Chairman of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, took place in this residence.
"I spend a lot of time at the Kremlin and often stay overnight. So we moved here and, sitting by the fireplace, sipping tea, we slowly talked about everything," Putin confessed at the time.
Critics of Putin note that the luxuries he surrounds himself with are far from the conditions soldiers at the front face on his orders. The losses suffered by Russia in the war with Ukraine are the highest since the Second World War.
Controversial palace on the cliff
Last year, it was reported that Putin renovated his flamboyant Gelendzhik castle, located on the Black Sea, at a massive expense. Its existence was discovered three years ago by investigative journalists associated with Alexei Navalny's anti-corruption foundation. A strip club, casino, and "aqua disco" - Putin was ridiculed for such interiors.
Thus, last year he decided on a costly renovation, and the rooms for indulging in bodily pleasures were turned into a temple with icons, religious paintings, and a wooden prayer book. One of the paintings depicts the canonised Prince Vladimir the Great - sharing the same name as Putin and being his historical hero - who is credited with uniting Ukraine and Russia over a thousand years ago.
