Russian President Vladimir Putin throughout his vacation in Siberia in March final yr. (AFP File)
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shocked the world and led to one of many greatest humanitarian crises because the Second World Warfare. It additionally delivered to the centre one of the crucial influential figures in worldwide politics: Vladimir Putin.
He has been on the helm of affairs in Russia for many years on whom the West has at all times stored a watchful eye. However his determination to start out a conflict in Ukraine, particularly in twenty first century, even shocked among the seasoned diplomats and coverage makers.
Putin has at all times intrigued the world along with his character, and his previous as a KGB officer. Right here, we check out his way of life.
Formally, the Kremlin has talked about that Putin earns an annual wage of $140,000, in keeping with Fortune. His publicly declared belongings embrace an 800-square foot residence, a trailer and three automobiles, the report additional mentioned.
However he’s usually believed to be the world’s richest man. Funding and asset administration firm Hermitage Capital Administration claimed in 2017 that Putin’s private wealth is $200 billion. The declare was made by the corporate’s CEO Bill Browder earlier than a Judiciary Committee of the US Senate.
His feedback about Putin and Russia are taken severely as Browder was a serious investor in Russia throughout the Nineteen Nineties.
The claims concerning the Russian President’s ridiculous amount of cash preserve doing the rounds as a result of way of life that he leads. Putin is seen sporting luxurious watches, like Patek Philippe’s Perpetual Calendar price $60,000 and a $500,000 A Lange & Sohne Toubograph, in keeping with Fortune.
Ten years in the past, ABC News carried a report primarily based on a video launched by Russian opposition group Solidarity, by which it mentioned that Putin owns luxurious watches price $700,000 – about six occasions his official wage.
Putin can also be believed to be the proprietor of a swanky 190,000 square-foot mansion sitting atop a cliff that overlooks the Black Sea. The outline of the property, carried by many information publications, say it has frescoed ceilings, a marble swimming pool lined with statues of Greek gods, spas, an amphitheater, a state-of-the-art ice hockey rink, a Vegas-style on line casino and a nightclub. If that isn’t sufficient, the mansion additionally has a barroom showcasing wine and spirits price lots of of {dollars}.
The images of the opulent mansion have been launched by Russian opposition leaders previously, who name it “Putin’s Nation Cottage”. The pictures declare to point out $500,000 eating room furnishings, a $54,000 bar desk, decked-out loos with fancy $850 Italian bathroom brushes and $1,250 bathroom paper holders. However in January this yr, Russian oligarch Arkady Rotenberg mentioned he’s the proprietor of the mansion, not Putin, in keeping with the BBC.
Other than reviews concerning the Black Sea mansion, the 69-year-old Russian President additionally rumoured to be the proprietor of 19 different homes, 700 automobiles, 58 aircraft and helicopters. Considered one of these planes – “The Flying Kremlin” – is constructed at a value of $716 million and has a rest room fabricated from gold.
On Tuesday, The Guardian carried a bit which had a photograph of a 140-metre-long, six-floor tremendous yacht in Italy, additionally believed to be owned by Putin. The Scheherazade, mentioned to be price $700m, is docked in a shipyard in Marina di Carrara, a city on Italy’s Tuscan coast. The Guardian report mentioned that the vessel is supplied with a spa, swimming swimming pools, two helipads, a wood-burning fire and a pool desk designed to tilt in order to scale back the affect of the waves.
In an deal with to the Italian Parliament on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Italy to grab the yacht.
Regardless of monumental wealth, Putin not sanctioned by West
Days after the Ukraine invasion was launched, western international locations froze the belongings of Russia’s elite, together with these near Putin, and imposed journey bans on them. However, the Russian President was spared.
In keeping with The New York Times, this was executed on the insistence of European international locations like Germany who needed communication channels to stay open with Russia’s prime management.
New company Reuters carried a report in January, which quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying that private sanctions in opposition to Putin could be “politically damaging” and akin to severing diplomatic relations.
