The Residence at Cape Idokopas also known as the “Palace on the Idokopas Cape”, often called “Putin’s Palace”, “Dacha Putin”, “Putin’s country cottage”, etc., is a large Italianate palace complex located on the Black Sea coast near the village of Praskoveevka in Gelendzhik, Krasnodar Krai, Russia. While officially dismissed in 2010 by Vladimir Putin‘s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, it has been claimed that the dacha was built for the personal use of Putin, and that its construction began during his first Presidency. Detailed claims about the project, which allegedly made improper use of state resources, were made by Sergei Kolesnikov, a businessman with ties to Putin dating from his time in Saint Petersburg prior to entering Kremlin politics. What is particularly interesting about the reporting is that it has been an open secret for a long time, but it was only through the documentation by Alexei Navalny that it received great national and international attention.
In December 2010, Kolesnikov wrote an open letter to President Dmitry Medvedev detailing his and others’ involvement in the project, calling for Medvedev to investigate and take action against corruption in Russia. High quality photographs of the palace and its extensive grounds were subsequently published by the Russian languageWikiLeaks website in January 2011, which showed the apparently complete lavish interior decor. Following the release of the photographs the site was temporarily blocked.
Spokespeople on the behalf of Putin and the Russian government have consistently dismissed Putin’s connections to the property and the related allegations of corruption. In February 2011 the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported that it had seen documents which supported Kolesnikov by implicating Vladimir Kozhin, Head of the Presidential Property Management Department, who had denied any involvement. A spokesman refused to comment on the Novaya Gazeta article. The presence of Federal Protective Service (FSO) activity in the area has been claimed as further evidence of state involvement. In April 2011 PPMD head Vladimir Kozhin admitted Kremlin involvement with the project when he said that his office was contracted by Lirus Management (Rosinvest, a subsidiary of Lirus, was directly financing the construction of the palace) to carry out the contract for the construction of the palace.
In March 2011, it was reported that Alexander Ponomarenko, a businessman and billionaire who made his money in sea ports, banking, commercial real estate and airport construction, acquired the company “Idokopas” which owned the palace. At the time of the purchase, Idokopas owned around 67 hectares of “recreational” land near the settlement of Praskoveyeka, including a “guesthouse” complex amounting to 26,000 square meters. Ponomarenko also said he had bought a second company, “Lazurnaya Yagoda,” which owned 60 hectares of agricultural land near Divnomorsk, a settlement 13 kilometers from Praskoveyevka. Ponomarenko bought the unfinished complex from Nikolai Shamalov, a member of Putin’s circle and the businessman at the centre of Kolesnikov’s claims, and his partners. At the time of the purchase, Ponomarenko did not disclose the value of the deal, but hinted he had been able to purchase the property for a very good price – the asset was heavily encumbered with debts and the developers had run out of money to complete the project. When asked about the projected value of the complex once complete, he conceded that suggestions it could be as much as $350 million “were close to the truth.” According to Vedomosti, however, experts estimated the value of the property at $20 million. In July 2011, “Lazurnaya Yagoda” was sold to SVL Group, controlled by Boris Titov, the owner of champagne factory “Abrau Durso.”
