Putin's Girlfriend Owns The Largest Penthouse In Russia, $120 Million In Real Estate: Report

Alina Kabaeva, a former gymnast believed to be Russian President Vladimir Putin's lover, owns the largest penthouse in Russia and millions worth of real estate, according to a recent investigation by journalists at Proekt.

The two-part investigation, titled "Iron Masks," found that Kabaeva is the owner of a penthouse located in the Royal Park residential complex in Sochi. The penthouse, which spans an area of 2,600 sq.m., features a swimming pool, a movie theater, a patio and a private helipad.

The investigation also found that Kabaeva's Sochi penthouse was purchased using Putin's slush fund hidden in Cyprus, which was then laundered through the company Ermira Consultants, as translated by Ukrainska Pravda.

Initially, Vladislav Kopylov, a lawyer from St. Petersburg, owned Ermira. In March 2015, Ermira's ownership was transferred to the oligarch and Putin's childhood friend Arkady Rotenberg, the journalists noted, citing a former business manager of one of Putin's closest friends.

In addition to the penthouse, Proekt's investigative journalists found that Kabaeva owns at least $120 million in real estate. Her properties include four apartments in Sochi bought in 2011. The ownership of three of the four apartments was transferred to Anna Zatsepilina, Kabaeva's grandmother.

The main apartment was then registered in the name of Oleg Rudnov, a now-deceased media manager from St. Petersburg who was Putin's close acquaintance. Prior to his death, Rudnov had also become the nominal owner of a cottage in the Tver Oblast where Putin's grandfather lived, as well as land in the Vyborg District in Leningrad Oblast where one of the president's vacation homes is located.

All of Rudnov's assets were transferred to his son Sergei Rudnov after his death in 2015.

The investigation also found that Putin and Kabaeva are living together, adding that the gymnast's assistances and cousins often visit Putin's residence in Valdai. One of Kabaeva's sisters also has an apartment nearby.

Furthermore, the journalists discovered that a separate living quarter was built for Kabaeva and their children within Putin's Valdai property. Kabaeva's living quarter is also near a boat pier, built in 2021, and Putin's secret railway, built in 2018.