VLAD’S LAVISH LAIR
Bombshell new ‘proof’ Putin DOES own $1bn pleasure palace that had sordid stripclub after Strava fitness app leak
A previous investigation by Russian media found that the decor inside the luxury palace was being revamped
BOMBSHELL new "proof" has emerged that Vladimir Putin does own a spectacular £1 billion clifftop Black Sea palace.
Compared to the lair of a James Bond villain, it includes a throne for the dictator, and earlier featured a sordid strip club with its own stage and pole-dancing hookah hall.
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The Kremlin has denied the pleasure palace belongs to Mad Vlad, but an investigation by French newspaper Le Monde now shows that the tyrant's bodyguards are frequently in the vicinity.
Data from the Strava fitness app showed that four of Putin's Federal Protective Service [FSO] security were running near the lavish residence in August-September of 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024.
The same American app also links the bodyguards to another secret Putin abode, a dacha bolthole just 18 miles from Nato territory in Finland in the Lake Ladoga National Park, says the newspaper.
Russian independent media outlets and now-dead opposition leader Alexei Navalny had triggered a scandal by revealing the existence of the Gelendzhik pile.
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It has its own vineyard and 16 storeys of underground passageways buried in the rock, described as more ingenious than James Bond Dr No’s bunker.
Putin had previously denied owning a secret £1billion palace paid for with state cash.
To diffuse the scandal, Vlad's close billionaire friend Arkady Rotenberg claimed he - not the despot - was the “beneficiary” of the palace, and intended to turn it into an aparthotel.
But few believed his claim.
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The latest revelations are now a further indication that this palace belongs to Putin and his secret partner Alina Kabaeva, 41, who has two undisclosed sons with the tyrant - Ivan, nine, and Vladimir Junior, five.
Putin, 71, revamps his £1 billion cliff-top palace 'to include church throne for himself as he gets rid of his pole-dancing boudoir and casino
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The lavish lair's designs included a balcony on the eighth subterranean floor, described as "literally a loggia hanging over the sea”.
According to an engineer-turned-whistleblower, who reportedly worked on the construction, the structure is built into the cliff, from which the owner can enjoy wine tasting from the palace stocks.
GLITZY REVAMP
An investigation in May by outlets FBK - formerly associated with Navalny - and Proekt found that the decor inside the palace was being revamped.
Out went the dictator's notorious striptease stage and pole-dancing hookah hall, casino, gaming room and "aqua disco", for which he was mocked and shamed in the original 2021 disclosure.
Possibly they are not seen in keeping with his recent drive for traditional values.
Out, too, went the garish gold noticed in the previous exposés of the Putin palace.
This was replaced by a church - like Russian emperors used to have - complete with its own wooden throne for Putin, along with sacred religious icons and images.
One depicts canonised Prince Vladimir the Great - the same name as Putin, and his historical hero - who was credited with uniting Ukraine and Russia over a thousands years ago.
“This is probably the only room where the name of the real owner of this palace is directly indicated,” said the May investigation.
Epic paintings of historical war scenes appeared showing a heroic Russia, including the 1812 Battle of Borodino when Napoleon suffered grievous losses.
One of them features part of a prominent Kremlin painting called “Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword!”
The probe was based on disclosures from a worker on the palace redesign who slipped his FSB minders to film the palace dripping in luxury.
The largest bedroom overlooking the sea has a figurine of a bear.
There are treatment rooms possibly to be used for “medical and cosmetic procedures”.
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Earlier the mining engineer described “a whole anthill in the rock under the house” including a nuclear shelter.
In August 2023, General Gennady Lopyrev, 69, once close to Putin, who was keeper of the secrets about the palace’s construction died mysteriously in jail.
The northern hideaway is in Karelia region is close to a scenic 13ft waterfall and a slice of commandeered national park.
A gazebo in full view of the beauty spot is sealed off from ordinary Russian people, according to independent news outlet Dossier Centre.
Putin is known to have another palace north of Moscow at Valdai where Kabaeva and their two sons live like royalty.
FITNESS APP LEAKS
The Strava fitness app was also used by French guards protecting President Emmanuel Macron, US secret service agents who protect Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, reported Le Monde.
An investigation by the French newspaper claims numerous agents use the exercise app, revealing the extremely confidential movements of world leaders.
Stava is a popular app among fitness fanatics that enjoy keeping track of their runs and cycle rides.
The app enables users to log and share the physical activities with friends, family, or anyone - depending on privacy settings.
Le Monde were able to track the Strava activity of Macron's bodyguards, as one example, revealing the French president had a weekend away in a Normandy seaside resort in 2021.
This was a private trip that was not publicly disclosed in his official schedule.
Meanwhile the locations of former first lady Melania Trump and the US president's wife Jill Biden were able to be identified by monitoring the Strava profiles of their security.
But the US Secret Service have suggested it's not phased by the claims, telling the newspaper it didn't believe the protection it provides was compromised in any way.
Identifying the presidential bodyguards - some of them using their full name on Strava - could also help in finding other details about them.
These could include personal addresses, their families, their movements, and their photos on social media - all of which could possibly be used to put pressure on them for malicious purposes, the report stressed.
A Strava spokesperson told The Sun: "Strava enables people to understand, visualise, and share their physical activity in the real world.
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"Underscoring our commitment in this space, in just the last year, we have launched five additional privacy features and improvements.
"While our platform is built for everyone, we expect people working in sensitive professions to leverage the controls available to them and appropriately limit their content."
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