Vladimir Putin may be about to get another pleasure palace on the coast as the Kremlin is reportedly trying to get its hands on a huge tract of land in Georgia.
Aslan Bzhania, de facto leader of the breakaway Black Sea region of Abkhazia, says he has been ordered by Putin himself to hand over a “beach paradise” near the seaside town of Pitsunda.
A 49-year lease has reportedly been secretly signed transferring control of 186 hectares of land, 115 hectares of water and a nearby military camp to the control of Putin’s Federal Protection Service – sparking protests among local residents. population led.
It is thought that Putin will use the site – where a summer lap was built by Josef Stalin and visited by Nikita Khrushchev – to build a new home for himself, after opponents sold his £1 billion palace just 200 miles from the coast. exposed.
Vladimir Putin has reportedly ordered leaders in a breakaway region of Georgia to hand over a tract of land housing an old Soviet summer residence (pictured) so he can build a new palace
A 49-year lease has reportedly been signed to transfer 189 hectares of land, 115 hectares of water and a nearby military camp (the area pictured) to Putin’s Federal Protection Service.
Mr Bzhania told outraged locals that he is powerless to deny the request as his fledgling government cannot survive without the support of the Russian military – despite being ravaged by the war in Ukraine.
“I can say with certainty that the Russian Federation can do without this dacha,” he said.
‘But can we do without the support of the Russian Federation, its armed forces and its structures that guard our borders here? This is a big question.’
He admitted: ‘This is a place where our main guest [Putin] coming.’
The 69-year-old Russian president has made at least two visits to the region – one in 2013 and one in 2017.
‘There are now new technologies, new safety conditions for protected persons. Accordingly, such work is of course necessary there,” added Mr. Bzhania
This is seen as an acknowledgment that a new palace will appear on the site of the Soviet-era summer dacha.
Putin (pictured during a visit to the site in 2013) is said to have personally submitted the request to the region’s de facto leader Aslan Bzhania
It comes after opposition politicians in Russia exposed Putin’s ownership of this £1 billion palace just 200 miles down the Black Sea coast.
Putin’s palace is said to contain a pole-dancing boudoir between a 16-storey network of underground rooms and facilities
A huge swimming pool surrounded by fake Greek columns would also appear in Putin’s other summer palace on the Black Sea
“We are going to do a major overhaul so that this facility can serve as a full-fledged residence for the President of the Russian Federation,” he said.
An earlier agreement in 1995 had given Russia privileged access to Pitsunda.
Mr Bzhania said he was forced to agree “because Putin likes to come there, and Russia has more money than us to equip the resort.…
‘I think it’s right to move buildings and structures to the Russian side.’
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said: “What we are seeing in Bichvinta is a form of annexation of Georgian territory by Russia.
‘We see a strong response from the population to the developments. This is the result of continued occupation.
“I strongly condemn this and call on the international community to respond strongly.”
In January, a secret agreement was signed in Moscow for a 49-year lease.
The property is one of five state dachas in Abkhazia, built from 1931 to 1949 during the Stalin era.
The area was one of the most popular refuges for Soviet leaders.
“There is a huge noise in Abkhazia because a large nature reserve from Pitsunda is being transferred to Russia,” said Georgian blogger Tinatin Dias.
News that a huge tract of land has been handed over to Russia has sparked protests locally, but the region’s leaders say they were powerless to refuse
Protesters clashed with police in the seaside town of Pitsunda, where Putin is believed to be preparing to build a new summer palace
“Rumors say it was Putin’s personal wish – apparently he wants to build a new estate there after feeling that Gelendzhik is no longer so safe.”
One theory is that Putin wants a new Black Sea retreat after the £1 billion Gelendzhik Palace – including a pole-dancing hookah boudoir, casino and ‘aquadisco’ – was unveiled by Russian opposition media.
Abkhazia broke away from Georgia in the 1992-93 war, shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union. It is completely dependent on Russia for its survival.
Since then, Putin has intervened in another Georgian region – South Ossetia – in 2014.
Both “states” are recognized only by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Syria.
Putin looked stabbed when Russian independent media revealed details of the newly built, high-security Gelendzhik Palace on a cliff.
It encompasses a 16-storey underground complex – including a tunnel to the beach – compared to a James Bond villain’s lair.
Amid a scandal over state funds used to build the palace, Putin’s childhood best friend, oligarch Arkady Rotenberg, 70, intervened to say it was his development.
“This is a beautiful place,” he claimed.
‘We would like to build an aparthotel there, that’s why it has so many rooms.’
Sources claimed Rotenberg intervened to avert Putin’s blame.
Nikita Khrushchev (right, with communist revolutionary Anastas Mikoyan, left, and Soviet military officer Klim Voroshilov, center) is pictured in the summer residence in 1963