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so i’ve been looking at the alleged “putin palace” alongside a friend who works in real estate here in nyc and really knows their way around floor plans. they prefer to stay anonymous but together we’ve made some interesting discoveries
if you look at the 2nd floor, you will see that there are 11 bedrooms in total on that same floor, 4 corner units are larger suites with living rooms, others are adjacent bedrooms only
you will also see that the alleged "putin suite" is only a bit bigger than the other suites, of which there are four on this floor, and they all have similar features
meanwhile, the alleged "putin bathroom & recreation room" are positioned in a way that they share the balcony with two other, smaller bedrooms. you can also access this balcony through the indoor “winter garden” which is a common area
you can’t see the balcony on the photos they provide and the shots centering the part where putin’s suite is supposed to be are from far away only: is this because they don’t want you to wonder as much?
you can see the balcony from which the “putin suite” can be approached circled on this photo, which is the closest angle of that side of the building we could find
say, you’re a notoriously secretive and authoritarian leader who is described as being paranoid: why the fuck would you want to have your bedroom be accessible through 3 entry points without any kind of barriers?
and in general, if you go all the way and build this monstrosity of a palace for yourself, being a scary scary dictator, why would you approach the other bedrooms for whomever else in a downright egalitarian manner?
meanwhile, one of the other three suites, the NW one, has its living room windows directly facing “putin’s recreation room”. because of course, it makes the perfect sense to go to a cape in the beautiful russian south & stay inside a room with the curtains drawn
if you’re familiar with the way luxury hotels are structured, you will recognize the arrangements: you have several different suites of varying quality, some as big as apartments, and smaller bedrooms as the cheapest options
here, for instance, are the descriptions of rooms & suites at the mark in nyc. the “putin suite” would be a "park studio" by its modification (so modest lol)
https://www.themarkhotel.com/rooms-and-suites/
https://www.themarkhotel.com/rooms-and-suites/
such arrangements are the standard in luxury hotels in europe, too
https://www.dorchestercollection.com/en/london/the-dorchester/rooms-suites/
https://www.ritzparis.com/en-GB/content/suite-grand-jardin
https://www.borromees.com/en/rooms-suites.html
https://www.dorchestercollection.com/en/london/the-dorchester/rooms-suites/
https://www.ritzparis.com/en-GB/content/suite-grand-jardin
https://www.borromees.com/en/rooms-suites.html
but most importantly that’s how they do luxury hotels in russia, too, here are some of the most expensive hotels in moscow & st. pete’s
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-rooms/mowlc-hotel-national-a-luxury-collection-hotel-moscow/
https://www.fourseasons.com/stpetersburg/accommodations/http://www.barvikhahotel.com/en/suits/exclusive/
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-rooms/mowlc-hotel-national-a-luxury-collection-hotel-moscow/
https://www.fourseasons.com/stpetersburg/accommodations/http://www.barvikhahotel.com/en/suits/exclusive/
and this is rodina in sochi, krasnodar krai (same region as the “putin palace”) where you have an option to stay in a 35 sq.m room or splurge on a 162 sq.m deluxe suite with a living room and a study
http://en.grandhotelrodina.ru/rooms/
http://en.grandhotelrodina.ru/rooms/
anyway, do you get where i’m going with that? not for a second do i doubt that there is a massive web of corruption linked to the building in question but i think peddling it as the debauched putin’s personal residence is intentional propaganda
it seems to be a small very luxurious hotel, which explains all the food processing facilities, the amount of bedrooms, the small gym on the first floor (we all know putin is an athlete, wouldn’t he want one in his suite directly?), the recreational facilities
and the tunnels, which they started discussing only recently and present as a “16 floor bunker” if they do exist seem to be a pathway to the beach and to a wine cave (our favorite topic lol) & is not more messed up than las vegas hotels & their caverns
(we also have a version that the hotel is intended for putin’s dogs: there’s four of them and each can have their separate suite, with the small bedrooms for hoomans: i’m sure americans will be supawr into that 
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besides, back in 2011 when the issue was already mulled over a million times, it was established that the building in question is a resort and it was sold as such https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1594565
there is also an interesting article that an architect wrote—he had commented on the building 10 years ago, too, so he knows what he’s talking about. since it’s in russian, i’ve condensed in english https://aftershock.news/?q=node/941889
his biggest outtake: not much has been added to the situation since 2010, it’s the same info that has been repackaged in a fancier, more expensive package with 3d rendering & a whole website
architect lanfranco cirillo has worked with rich russians since 90s. his main source of income is importing expensive italian furniture to russia. like any other architect, he inserts particular furniture in blueprints & you’re not obliged to buy it, it’s just a recommendation
this is something to keep in mind re: style. much attention has been drawn to the gaudy style of the furnishings to allege some louis xiv aesthetics or smth when in fact you can’t be 100% sure it will look exactly like that
everyone has been obsessed with the golden toilet brush, some ppl even carried toilet brushes during the protests, but it was actually found off the limits of this building, in a separate winemaking facility, so is not really an indication of anything
he also makes an interesting comparison to the largest private residency in the world. the sultan of brunei owns the palace istana nurul iman that’s 187,000 sq m. so 18 times bigger. meanwhile, it cost $500m-1.4bil by different accounts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istana_Nurul_Iman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istana_Nurul_Iman
that architect guy asks: why is putin paying 18 times as much per 1sq.m? he could have 10,000 sq.m for the same price. is putin being fleeced by the greedy contractors? ai-yai-yai!!
there are also issues with the 3d rendering: the same lamps reappearing in different rooms. but my favorite is the column story. in the blueprint, there are rounds in the pool room 1st floor plan. but they are not present on the 2nd floor plan. see? probably lamps or tables
you can see in the pool room rendering that these round things were mistaken for columns & now the pool room has these weird throuple column things which don’t fit any existing order. i guess putin had to have his own, what’s rome and greece to him?
another comparison between the blueprint and the rendering. they sure got busy with painting putin in but made the pool wider and if you look closely, there is literally no room between the pool edge and the walls for chaise lounges
while small those things add up to show how much effort is being put into the construction of the narrative and how little care is taken to make it spotless. as we say in russian “the people will chow it down either way”: пипл и так схавает
it’s also quite funny how navalny’s team described their travails of getting to the object as if it was operation barbarossa when other dudes had no problem going right in (of course now navalnites are whining & calling them misogynist slurs)
as many of you may know i am a fiction writer by profession and an editor. so when i approach a narrative i look at it cohesively, and see if it makes sense on the whole. this one, especially when you look at it through the eyes of a real estate specialist, doesn’t.
not to say that putin & his government aren’t corrupt: they absolutely are, and their capitalist regime is no friend of the people. but making up fairy tales will not help deal with it at all. it does, however, help the regime change & color revolution plans for nato
and just in general i think it’s very funny when people who only know politics as bourgeois power and free markets try to incite class struggle by evoking sofia coppola’s marie antoinette and hoping that’s the only incitement they need
you may ask: does navalny have a plan to seize all the luxury hotels if he comes to power? of course not. he wants more privatizations instead. so that luxury hotels belong to his rich friends not putin’s (khodorkovsky for instance)
anyway, please read “class struggle” by domenico losurdo, it’s a magnificent book on class struggle but also makes excellent points on the subject of celebrating activism just because it’s activism, no matter the implications
i also want to add that in general by standards of international journalism, navalny and bellingcat's investigations are questionable because they constantly say they buy data. i assume that it's the same as paying sources? a big no-no. who's to say they don't buy evidence?
this is a very likely explanation for the property's purpose. & this is smth you don't really get in the navalny narratives, how the russian mafia "vory born out of camps during stalin's time have been key players in perestroika, ussr collapse, corruption https://twitter.com/Bershidsky/status/1352204660346654722
this video from within the palace with english subtitles is really useful https://twitter.com/ValLisitsa/status/1355135339795505163
everyone is claiming i'm a putin mouthpiece yet can not show me any indication that russian state media or even any other entity has ever talked about the points i make aboutt balconies, rooms, etc. sorry neither navalny nor putin could find a good floor plan person but i did 
