Vladimir Putin

$950 million Italianate palace

It’s not just another palace owned by super-rich, but this ultra-expensive, lavish, artistic and outlandish Italianate palace with casino, amphitheater and helipad, an underground tunnel to the sea, has been reported to be the property of former Russian President and hugely popular politician, Vladimir Putin. In a classical Italianate style akin to France’s Palace of Versailies, this eight-million sq ft. extraordinary mansion gradually taken shape on a thickly wooded mountainside overlooking Black Sea Coast. With massive and illegal use of state funds, palace is alleged to be built for the personal use of Putin. It was originally conceived as a modest holiday house with a swimming pool, but it now reportedly boasts a magnificent columned facade reminiscent of the country palaces Russian tsars built in the 18th Century.

The 'Putin's palace' scandal surfaced when businessman Sergei Kolesnikov wrote to Russian president Dmitry Medvedev asking him to investigate allegations the complex was being built, financed and protected by the government for the personal use of Putin, who actually began its construction in 2007, when Putin was still president.

Location: Large Italianate palace located on the Black Sea coast near the village of Praskoveevka in Gelendzhik, Krasnodar Krai, Russia.

Features: The massive wrought-iron gates into the courtyard are topped with a golden imperial eagle.

On the outside, there’s some formal gardens, a private theater, a landing pad with bays for three helicopters, and accommodation for security guards.

This huge neo-Palladian palace comes complete with marble surfaces, hand-painted Renaissance-style murals and formal gardens with topiary.

Vladimir Putin enjoys a very luxurious, not to mention a royal lifestyle due to his stature as a head of state. During his vacations he likes to enjoy the Billiards game which helps him to keep fresh and healthy.

Vladimir Putin is quite interesting guy, he never lose a chance to show his talent. He has been spotted number of times playing guitar at his elegant home. Music turns to keep him stressful and cheerful.

Siberia is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s favorite holiday destinations. He enjoyed vacationing at this vacation spot many a times with his wife Lyudmila and his two children, and the last time he was spotted there was in last year, when he spent about a week in town of Kyzyl in Southern Siberia. He had a great time swimming in the ice-cold Siberian lakes and particularly enjoyed his horse riding stints.

Location: The landmass of Siberia covers most of Northern Asia. It is the largest province in the Russian Federation and forms the central and eastern parts of the vast country.

Accommodation: Over 200 hotels and dormitories of varying price ranges are available in Siberia. Budget accommodations like Hotel Europe and Gloria Hotel in the city of Irkutsk charge in the range of $130 to $150 for a night’s stay. The city of Tomsk offers cheap hotels like Hotel Siberia and Parad Park which don’t cost more than $120 per night. It gets a little more expensive in the city of Krasnoyarsk where a night’s stay in a decent place like Oktyabrskaya Hotel can set a tourist back by $200.

Main Attractions: The best time to visit Siberia is in the summer months from April to August. It offers a chance to enjoy the breathtaking landscape of the place.

Tourists can enjoy the lush green plains by embarking on horse riding expeditions in the Altai Mountains region. The River Katune offers great rafting and boating facilities. No visit is complete without a trip to Lake Baikal which is considered to be the jewel of Siberia, and is also the deepest lake in the world.

The Kamchatka peninsula with over 200 volcanoes and almost the same number of hot springs is not be missed.

And, the port city of Vladivostok is also worth a trip.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has a reasonably soft spot and affection for luxury watches, but some people are wondering why these exquisite watches have not been hard on his wallet. Putin could afford to have such a lavish and extravagant watch collection. Interestingly, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official salary has been listed as $115,000, almost six times the worth of its watch collection of $700,000.