You will have to perform the einstellungen for a year.
Russia’s rulers since the time of the czars have enjoyed the warm climate on the Black Sea, the palm trees and the Mediterranean ambience. And Vladimir Putin is no exception. He has frequently traveled to Sochi, the traditional health resort in the very south of the country, during his 25 years in office. He has usually spent up to five weeks a year there, mostly in May and early fall. In previous years, he has always resided in the luxurious presidential residence, called Bocharov Ruchey, situated on a hill above the sea.
Where Soviet leaders Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev once rested, he receives state visitors and holds government meetings. Photos of meetings with Western leaders such as George W. Bush, Gerhard Schröder and Silvio Berlusconi on the idyllic pier of the residence have entered the annals of diplomatic history. A few years ago, Putin even had an exact copy of his Moscow workplace built in his palace, so he can keep the public in the dark about where he was at any given time.
This makes it all the more puzzling why Putin is suddenly avoiding Sochi this year. The last officially confirmed visit took place in March, when Putin received the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency there. However, the meeting did not take place in the central palace complex, but in a nearby conference building.
The online magazine Proekt, a publication of Russian researchers in exile, highlights these oddities for the first time and also uncovers a fact that in the past was kept secret by the Russian state: Bocharov Ruschey’s presidential palace no longer exists. the earth. This can be checked without problems on the Google Maps platform. Where a year ago you could barely see the construction with its red roofs and well-kept park, now there is a huge hole that extends over approximately one hectare.
The satellite image used by Google Maps is from May 2024. The demolition must therefore have taken place earlier. Images from the European Sentinel satellite with lower resolution indicate that the demolition happened in February or March. The fact that this is only now coming to light is surprising, and at the same time is a sign of how well the Putin regime can keep information under wraps – and how intimidated the media in the country are, as well as ordinary citizens. The demolition work could not have been completely hidden from attentive local observers, even though the site is surrounded by high fences.
Putin’s regime has kept its palaces secret. The magnificent complex near Gelendzhik, 150 kilometers from Sochi and also built on the Black Sea, has acquired some notoriety. He gained fame in 2021 thanks to a film by opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who has since died while incarcerated in a Russian prison. In recent years, it has also come to light that Putin spends much of his time in the luxurious presidential apartment in Valdai, north of Moscow.
However, Sochi is not just any secret retreat. Rather, it is an official residence where Putin has often and gladly shown himself performing his official duties. Accordingly, it seems bizarre that the regime sees no need to justify the destruction of such a facility.
Proekt magazine presented an imaginable explanation for the secrecy, which, if true, would be embarrassing for Putin. Sochi is no longer supposed to be a safe position for the Russian president, and in fact, that hasn’t been the case since last year. In September 2023, Ukrainian long-range drones arrived in this town for the first time, traveling at least six hundred kilometers to do so. A fuel depot caught fire, and a few days later, there was an attack on the helipad at Sochi airport. Since this fall, there have been no reports of Putin visiting his beloved city, with only one exception.
The Proekt reporters argue that Putin is afraid of Ukrainian airstrikes, and no longer feels safe in his residence. The idea is not far-fetched, especially as Putin’s obsession with his personal security is well known. However, this theory cannot as yet be proven.
The explanation is counterbalanced by the fact that the Russian president had already reduced his visits to Sochi before the fall of 2023. Proekt himself claims that Putin had already given up his classic long holidays on the Black Sea in May of the same year. In the past, according to Russian media critical of the regime, he celebrated the birthday of his secret partner, Alina Kabaeva. Russian media reported that he had several children with Kabaeva. The drop in the frequency of visits in 2023 may also be due to security concerns, but it would mean that the Kremlin has declared the danger of Ukrainian drone attacks months in advance.
Regardless of those concerns, the question remains why Putin not only avoids Sochi, but even razed his Black Sea apartment. The fear of drones is not a sufficient explanation. Were there any challenges with the building? Only 10 years ago, Putin had the State Palace renovated and extensively expanded. A new port facility was subsequently added and in 2017, in satellite photographs, a special train station appeared on the edge of the site. This allowed Putin to travel directly from Moscow to his southern apartment in his armored train, avoiding the riskier air direction near the war zone. Until recently, there was no indication that the Kremlin leader could tire of this place.
That is why Putin has not given up on Sochi. He probably wouldn’t have had his apartment demolished for fear of drones, but because he commissioned a new, even more opulent complex. So far, there is no conclusive evidence to support this theory. But a more recent satellite symbol, from September 2024, shows transparent symptoms of new structure activity in the arid site. A number of structural machines are being used and extensive excavations appear to be underway.