The residences counted include castles, dachas, a ski resort and a controversial £600-million palace on the Black Sea.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin allegedly share at least two dozen palaces, villas and mansions between them, according to a respected Russian magazine.
Ever since a businessman in December accused Putin of building a £600-million palace on the shores of the Black Sea for his own personal use, the Russian liberal media and blogosphere have been probing and discussing possible secret residences belonging to the two.
The magazine Kommersant Dengi reported yesterday that given the Russian regime's opacity, it was impossible to tell how many residences the President and Prime Minister had access to, but noted that some estimates gave Putin 26 separate places to live in.
The magazine itself counted 24 residences that could be used by the pair, including six that are only rumored to be for presidential use. The list contains castles, dachas, palaces, a ski resort and even a chateau outside Paris, The Independent reports.
Most controversial is the Black Sea palace, currently being built near the village of Praskoveyevka.
Sergei Kolesnikov, a Russian businessman and supposed whistleblower, told a US newspaper in December that funds for the palace had been raised through "a combination of corruption, bribery and theft," and coordinated by a close associate of Putin's.
The newspaper said it had seen documents to support the claim. Putin's official spokesman has denied the building has anything to do with the Prime Minister.
Photographs of the palace were published last month by ruleaks.net, a website that positions itself as a Russian version of WikiLeaks.
They showed a colonnaded palace with interiors full of frescos and antique furniture. The website said it could not confirm the ownership of the palace, but had decided to publish the photos anyway.
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