Russia: Putin's Gazprom boss lives in Protz palace for 240 million dollars
Created: 06/18/2022, 18:42
By: Tim Vincent Dicke
Gazprom boss Alexei Miller is a close friend of Vladimir Putin.
The oligarch lives in luxury.
© Sergei Karpukhin/AFP
A palace near Moscow, a yacht club in St. Petersburg – research on the head of Gazprom shows that loyalty to Putin is worthwhile in Russia.
Moscow – For years now imprisoned politician Alexej Navalny has been fighting rampant corruption and injustice in Russia.
Now the opposition's team of journalists has struck again.
A new investigative investigation reveals the incredible wealth of Gazprom boss Alexei Miller.
As the Navalny team and the investigative platform Proekt Media report, the man who throttles or even turns off the gas in European countries lives in the lap of luxury, in contrast to the majority of his compatriots.
The Gazprom boss is said to have bought one of the most expensive properties in Russia.
The proud price for the palace with 8500 square meters of living space: 240 million dollars.
The oligarch is a close companion of Vladimir Putin, both have known each other for decades.
As early as 2001, the Russian President installed Miller as chairman of the energy company.
Putin friend in Russia: Gazprom boss veils lifestyle
Drone recordings by the journalists show the full extent of the residency.
Columns, balconies, a gigantic dome and a spacious roof terrace with numerous sun loungers are just a fraction of the luxurious comforts.
Not far from the palace there is a glass greenhouse with an area of 200 square meters, and there is also an Orthodox chapel on the premises, in case the master of the house needs to do penance.
Plans of the property show a swimming pool, a bowling alley and a mini-golf room, as well as a special cooling room for fur coats.
Miller and his family are said to store numerous furs there.
Since Alexej Miller is a self-confessed equestrian fan, he also treated himself to an enormous stable including a life-size horse statue.
According to the Navalny team, the total area of Miller's property, including the park, is 62,000 square meters.
However, the magnificent palace is only a small fraction of the wealth of the Gazprom boss.
In total, according to researchers, Miller owns real estate worth more than $750 million - including villas, hotels, apartments and a yacht club on Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg.
And looking at other values, Miller's net worth could even be as high as $3 billion.
As is so often the case with Russian oligarchs and the super-rich, dummies are entered in the documents so that the true ownership structure is disguised.
Putin confidante leads a glamorous life in Russia – Gazprom throttles deliveries to the EU
“These people are just nobody.
Absolutely useless mediocre crooks.
But they own Russia now.
The country was stolen from us and distributed: one has all the state oil, the other gas, the third only billions in the account and palaces with Lamborghinis in front of the door,” judge Navalny’s media people.
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At first they would only have stolen Bentleys and gold watches.
“Then they considered themselves nobles and owned lands with horses and servants.
Now they're starting a war, destroying and invading a neighboring country, killing civilians.” Many experts assume that Putin can only stay in power with the support of the loyal oligarchs.
While the boss lives in luxury, his group has throttled gas supplies to several EU countries in the past few days.
Deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany were reduced by 60 percent.
Officially, this is justified with maintenance, but in reality it should be a political decision in view of the Ukraine war to put pressure on the European Union and divide member states.
(tvd)
