Activists say one belongs to the president—and that it was built with illicit state funds. |
Extravagant mansions are popping up along Russia’s Black Sea coast. Activists say one belongs to the president—and that it was built with illicit state funds. On a recent morning, in the village of Praskoveyevka, located on the northern coast of Russia's Black Sea, a group of activists—some in bathing suits, others in the nude—went for a swim at a public beach. Their goal: to get a closer look at an extravagant mansion, set in the middle of a nearby forest. The house, with its black, iron gate and Soviet era fa?ade, looked surreal, as if someone had transported it from Moscow and dropped it in the middle of nowhere. For months, the activists have been camping in the woods near the mansion, sneaking past the guards and the "No Trespassing" signs to photograph the massive home. Last week, they posted photos online of its lush courtyard and Tsar-like bedroom on their popular blog. Set in 74 hectares of prime land near the Black Sea coast with its own vineyard, the palace has its own helipad. Other features include an indoor cinema, a summer amphitheatre, a casino, swimming pools, a gym and a clock tower. Sergei Kolesnikov, the businessman who claims the palace is Mr Putin's, has likened the structure to a palace built for Russia's Tsars outside St Petersburg. He said that the Russian prime minister had personally approved the design and materials. Mr Kolesnikov has called on Medvedev to investigate his controversial claim. "A palace is being built on the Black Sea coast for the personal use of the Russian prime minister," Mr Kolesnikov wrote in his original letter. "As things stand, the cost of the palace is $1 billion. The funds were mostly raised through a combination of corruption, bribery and theft," he said. Mr Putin's spokesman has dismissed the allegation out of hand however, as has Mr Kozhin, the Kremlin official whose signature allegedly appeared on the original contract. But Mr Kolesnikov, who said he was involved in the project himself until 2009 when he was removed for raising concerns about corruption, is sticking to his story and pictures of the lavish residence have appeared on a Russian whistle-blowing web site. (Read by CJ Henderson. CJ Henderson is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
俄羅斯黑海海岸涌現(xiàn)出諸多豪華別墅。一些活動人士稱,其中一座別墅屬于現(xiàn)任總統(tǒng)普京所有,而且是違法使用國家資金建造的。 最近的一個早晨,在俄羅斯黑海北部海岸的村落Praskoveyevka,一群活動人士在公共海灘游泳,他們或身穿泳衣,或者干脆裸泳。他們的目標就是要近距離觀看這座附近森林里的豪華別墅。別墅有著一扇黑色的鐵門,外觀有蘇聯(lián)時期建筑的風格,看起來頗為超現(xiàn)實主義,就如同有人把它從莫斯科搬來丟在了偏僻之處。 這些活動人士已經(jīng)在別墅周圍的叢林里露營了幾個月,他們躲過巡查的保安,繞過“不準擅自闖入”的標牌,拍攝這座巨大的豪華別墅。上周,他們把繁茂庭院的照片上傳到網(wǎng)上,還把類似沙皇時期的臥室照片上傳到博客上。 別墅占地74公頃,座落在黑海海岸的黃金地段,有獨立的葡萄園,也有直升機起降場。其他設施還包括室內(nèi)電影院、夏季圓形劇場、俱樂部、游泳池、健身房和鐘塔。 聲稱別墅屬于普京所有的商人謝爾蓋?克列斯尼科夫?qū)⑦@座別墅比作為沙皇在圣彼得堡外修建的奢華住宅。他說時任俄羅斯總理的普京曾親自批準了別墅的設計和材料。 克列斯尼科夫曾呼吁當時的總統(tǒng)梅德韋杰夫調(diào)查此事。他在最初的致信中說:“黑海海岸正在修建一座別墅,供(時任)普京總理個人使用。” 他說:“照目前來看,別墅造價高達10億美元。這些資金是通過腐敗、受賄和偷盜而來的?!?/p> 但普京的發(fā)言人和克里姆林宮官員科任都立即反駁了這一指控。科任的簽名曾出現(xiàn)在別墅的原始合同上。 但克列斯尼科夫堅稱自己所說的全部屬實,這座豪華別墅的照片也被上傳到了俄羅斯的一個揭秘網(wǎng)站上。克列斯尼科夫稱自己一直參與別墅的建造項目,直到2009年因指出別墅可能涉及腐敗問題而被迫離開項目組。 相關(guān)閱讀 美俄總統(tǒng)私聊曝光 “轉(zhuǎn)達給普京”網(wǎng)絡走紅 (中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 Julie 編輯:陳丹妮) |
Vocabulary: fa?ade: 外觀,(法)建筑物正面 surreal: 超現(xiàn)實主義的,離奇的,不真實的 in the middle of nowhere: 偏僻的地方 helipad: 直升機起降場 amphitheatre: 圓形劇場,階梯教室 as things stand: 按照現(xiàn)狀來看,在目前的情況下 out of hand: 立即 whistle-blowing: 告密,揭發(fā)內(nèi)幕 |