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Friday July 26, 2024

Mansions, yachts: Things Alexei Navalny exposed that 'got him killed'

Alexei Navalny was a strong critic of Vladimir Putin and was known for exposing Putin's luxurious lifestyle

By Web Desk
February 17, 2024
The image shows pictures from Putins Palace exposed by Alexei Navalny. — X/@denkmit
The image shows pictures from Putins Palace exposed by Alexei Navalny. — X/@denkmit

Alexei Navalny, opposition leader and a strong critic of Russia's President Vladimir Putin, passed away in a remote prison on Friday, as per the Russian prison authorities.

His death was reported as murder by the Russian media as politicians across the world including UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne poured in condolences. 

Before Navalny’s imprisonment in January 2021, he led campaigns against corruption and organised major anti-Kremlin protests, the New York Post reported.

He strongly condemned the Ukraine war as well.

Here are some of the shocking exposes that were made by Navalny before he passed away. 

Putin's Palace

In 2021, Navalny exposed Putin's palace — a $1.35 billion Black Sea fortress — with a casino, an Orthodox church, two helipads, a vineyard, and even an underground ice hockey rink.

This exposé, complete with drone footage, has garnered 120 million hits since it was first posted on YouTube in January 2021.

Superyachts

In addition, Navalny revealed three of Putin's enormous superyachts that were registered in other people's names to avoid taxes and negative publicity.

Among the yachts are the $700 million Olympia and the 459-foot-long Scheherazade, a superyacht including a cinema theatre, helipad, pool, and a drone-shooting security system.

Another is the Graceful, also known as Kosatka, which translates to "Killer Whale", and which was transferred from a German shipyard to Russia just before Putin's illegitimate invasion of Crimea in 2022.

That yacht features a helipad and a pool that can be used as a dance floor.

Putin's retreat near Finland

According to the Guardian, Navalny revealed Putin's large vacation island resort close to Finland in 2017.

Situated on 50 acres surrounding Lodochny Island in the Gulf of Finland, the palace is referred to as Villa Segren.

Navalny said the location was tightly secured and displayed drone footage showing new residences, a villa, a helipad, and a pier on the property.

"His personal assets are registered under the names of his close friends, who have become fabulously wealthy over the last 17 years."

Medvedev's manor

The Moscow Times reported in 2016 that Navalny had revealed the 200-acre "Milovka Manor," located around five hours away from Moscow and reportedly a family vacation spot for then-prime minister Dmitry Medvedev.

It had three helipads, a gigantic outdoor chess board, a marina, a ski slope, a distinctive communications tower, and a special residence for ducks that lived like tsars. 

Yellow ducks later became a symbol of dissent.