Abdulmujib Yakubu

Putin's Hidden Bunker A 1-billion dollar property in the middle of the Black Sea? Okay, so what? But what about a secret bunker just below it? Yes, totally something Putin of Russia would think of doing. People, especially specific Russians, are not loving this little alleged bunker of Putin, but let's go over it a little. As we know or as it looks, Vladimir Putin fears no one, that's why he's not agitated by the recent allegations he's faced. A wild allegation first came up in 2010, of which he flatly denied, about him owning a 190,000-square-foot secret palace just facing the black sea, as well as a secret bunker beneath the luxurious complex. It was believed to have been constructed in the event of a war or revolution, and was even built before Russia's takeover of Crimea. At this time, he was still building warm relations with other European countries. Though, it was claimed to be privately funded and privately owned, compared to the U. S. President's bunkers beneath the White House and Mount Weather in Virginia. As long as it was Putin, people found an ulterior motive to this, and possibly an abuse of power, whether publicly or privately funded. For whistleblower, Sergei Kolesnikov, Putin had financed this alleged estate of his through corruption, bribery, and theft. It was in 2010 that he wrote an open letter to the then-Russia President, Dmitry Medvedev, pointing fingers at Putin and exposing the once-secret palace to the world. He also claimed that the agreement was carried out by Dentist Nikolai Shamalov, basically overseeing the construction of the $1.4 billion estate for either Putin or Medvedev. In March of 2011, it was made public that Russian billionaire, Alexander Ponomarenko, acquired the company that owned the palace. He claimed that he had acquired the property from Shamalov for a good price since the estate was plagued by debt and the developers didn't have any money left to complete the project. It quite died down during this period since both Putin and Medvedev denied ownership of the luxury complex. Not until Russia's powerful opposition leader and Putin's sworn enemy, Alexei Navalny's Anti Corruption Foundation aka FBK, published an investigative documentary film in 2021. People's attention got drawn to it once again, and they needed answers. There was even a massive protest at the time that saw thousands of Russians take to the street to call Putin out. This was no ordinary documentary film, as it covered an alleged corruption scheme run by Putin and also claimed that the palace was built for President Putin's personal use. It also racked up 110 million views. Putin dismissed the claims, referring to it as "boring" and a "compilation and montage". and the Kremlin stated that the palace belonged to a number of businessmen that couldn't be revealed. So, who exactly owns this palace? Well, soon after the release of the documentary film, one of Putin's close allies and childhood friend, billionaire Arkady Rotenberg, claimed ownership of the palace, saying it had nothing to do with President Putin. This Italianate palace is no usual one, no wonder everybody's looking to find out its true owner. It has its own church, casino, ice rink, hookah lounge, and wine cellar. All of this beauty is however sealed off from the rest of Russia with 17,000 acres of woodland, security forces, and a special no-fly zone. Now, some people might see this as a far-stretch for the Russian president or the not-so secret property owner, however, Russian authorities claimed that in May 2023, two drones had attempted to assassinate Putin before the authorities intercepted it. That's why it's not so surprising to find something more interesting on the vast property other than the palace. Everyone was thrown off board once the engineering firm and contractor behind the project gave out some interesting deets about the property. Whether this was intentional or not, what was important was that a new secret had been unveiled. The palace in fact, had a secret network of underground tunnels just beneath the palace. These two tunnels were lying around 50 meters under the surface. The diagrams released showed bunkers that had their own ventilation system, sewerage, and fresh water supply. It also had extensive cables to supply occupants for days or even weeks. The architectural plans also showed that the tunnels were reinforced with 15-inch concrete shells. The entire underground complex covered 6,500 square feet. An elevator shaft was also present, connecting the two tunnels, and could descend roughly 50 meters below the surface. Their exits could be boldly seen on the cliff face rising up from the sea. The lower tunnel led straight to a walkway to the beach, and had cable racks used to transmit electricity and fiber-optic cables directly into a command post. So, what was the reason behind this underground lair of the Gelendzhik palace, and why hadn't the contractors hid it from the public? Was it even ever a secret? For the now-defunct Russian contractor, Metro Style, it seemed like they were just showing off their good work when they posted plans and diagrams of the palace to their website in 2010. They described the project as an “underground complex for a resort”. For whatever reason, the plans of the lavish property later disappeared from their website six years later. It means that these plans were still viewable on the Russian internet as late as 2016, before Metro Style took them down. However, it is still visible on a website which is a popular archive of online content called the Wayback Machine. They were further spread by a group of Russian citizens called Diggers that have a community where they solely visit and document forbidden sites. An anonymous 'digger' from Sect Z, a group in the community had a specific reason for sharing the images though. According to him, he was sharing them “because we are tired of Putin’s stupid face and want to show his paranoid underground transport”. The whole idea of President Putin putting luxury and his security first before anything, however, suddenly took a turn when the real nature of the palace was revealed. When last seen, the palace looked like it was being rebuilt, and was clearly suffering from mold infestations. These were part of Navalny's allegations in his 2021 video. Truly, the palace has been undergoing construction and reconstruction from 2005 to 2020, due to its mold problem. The builders of the palace confirmed the same thing, and one said that in 2017, there had been a mold infestation, but it hadn't gone past the lower ground floor. It wasn't until it was completed and used for a good time, before the mold problem began, and then came the unpleasant smell. They do believe that the cause of the mold is due to the palace's proximity to the sea and a lack of ventilation. Or probably just the rush in wanting to get it finished quickly according to accounts from a particular builder who claimed there were about 1,500 people working on its construction in 2011, rushing to get it finished. Whether or not it is being reconstructed because of its poor state, that didn't take the spotlight away from Putin and his hidden away bunker in the black sea. Though, a professional once claimed that the Gelendzhik palace might not be some sort of bunker for Putin, but more of an evacuation route. Especially judging by the tunnels' outlet in clear view. For him, it might just be another of Putin's wants, judging by the walkaway to the sea feature found in the lower tunnel. He also claimed that if the underground complex had truly been designed as an emergency shelter, then it would never have been published online by the contractor, and the Kremlin would have handled it instead. But, what do you think of Putin's alluring palace and underground lair? Share your comments below, and leave a like and subscribe if you enjoyed the video.