Published 13:20 IST, January 26th 2021
Putin denies Navalny team's allegation of owning $1.35 bn Black Sea property
Vladimir Putin rejected the claims made by his staunch critic and opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s team that he owns a luxury 'palace' on the Black sea.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on January 25 rejected the claims made by his staunch critic and opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s team that he owns a luxury property on the Black Sea worth $1.35 billion amid fresh nationwide demonstration. In a rare response to the claims made by the opposition leader, Putin rejected the ownership of the luxury palace and said it ‘doesn’t belong to me’. Navalny’s team had released a video last week voicing the allegations.
The video has been viewed by at least 86 million people, but during a video call with Russian students, Putin said, “Nothing that is listed there as my property belongs to me or my close relatives, and never did.”
Russian President’s clarification came as the law enforcement in the nation detained over 3,000 protesters demanding the immediate release of Navalny. However, as the Putin critic’s investigation team published a video exposing the alleged estate that was built for the Russian President in an elaborate corruption scheme, Putin termed it “manipulation through editing”. Putin also added that the video was only published by the opposition to “brainwash our people with this information”. However, an excerpt from Navalny's blog read, "There is one place where you can understand everything about Vladimir Putin. This is the most guarded place in Russia, in fact a state within a state, and this is Putin's biggest secret. Which is protected by hundreds, even thousands of people - from unknown guards, gardeners and builders to the richest and most famous people in Russia".
Russia Downplays Severity Of 'biggest' Opposition Protest
Meanwhile, following the arrests of thousands of protesters in Russia, the Kremlin has broken its silence on nationwide protests demanding the release of Alexei Navalny. The Russian government not only downplayed the severity of the demonstrations that were witnessed in several cities but also accused the United States of meddling in Moscow’s internal affairs. The law enforcement of Russia have arrested more than 3,000 people so far amid the protests, said the group that counts the political detentions as the police tried to disperse the unsanctioned rallies in 10 time zones across the nation in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s staunch critic, Navalny.
Nationwide demonstrations, demanding an immediate release of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, were held. The protests were organised in a range of cities across Russia when the temperatures were as low as minus-50 C, highlighting the influence Kremlin’s most prominent foe has built in the nation. Navalny's wife Yulia was also detained in Moscow. Navalny was arrested on January 17 on returning to Moscow from Germany, where he had spent nearly five months recovering from nerve-agent poisoning that he has blamed on the Kremlin but Russian authorities deny.
13:20 IST, January 26th 2021