"Sobesednik" calls scientific testing ground in Adygea a resort for Vladimir Putin

In Adygea, a chalet accompanied with three kilometres of ski slopes and cable cars is used as a personal winter resort for the first person of the state; the chalet was built with budget money and is being guarded by the Federal Security Service, the magazine “Sobesednik” (Interlocutor) reports.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in March, the “Sobesednik” posted an article about the "Achipse" chalet located near the Krasnaya Polyana resort. The chalet is supposedly a Vladimir Putin's winter residence.

Vladimir Putin likes to demonstrate his good physical shape, including by skiing, but for a private winter vacation in Adygea, “a personal ski resort has been built, where they no longer play democracy, but secrecy instead,” notes Oleg Roldugin in his article posted today on the website of the magazine “Sobesednik”.

According to the formal documents, the chalet with a helipad and cable cars belongs to the “Rosneft” Company and is called the testing ground of the “Biosphere” scientific centre. Meanwhile, security guards, builders, and local residents have long called the resort in the Chigursana area on the slope of Mount Fisht a “Vladimir Putin’s dacha.” The area of the chalet with facilities is 2500 square metres. The testing ground is positioned as a scientific one, but it includes three kilometres of ski slopes.

The place, known as “Lunnaya Polyana” (Moonlit Meadow), was withdrawn from the Caucasian Natural Reserve on the initiative of the Presidential Property Management Department, and thus, back in the early 2000s, such a withdrawal made it possible to legalize construction in the area. The Presidential Property Management Department was in charge of the construction, despite the fact that the “Rosneft” Company was the official customer. The “testing ground” buildings and the road to them – all worth about 50 billion roubles – were funded by budget money, the “Sobesednik” reports.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 31, 2021 at 02:51 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.