VLADIMIR Putin’s pampered lackeys are apparently exempt from his crackdown on flashy cars, driving all manner of ancient Western engines.
Putin’s flashy collections of minions were discovered by Ukrainian hackers who broke into a database of Russian drivers and their engines.
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Hackers managed to break into a Russian Union of Auto Insurers database, which contained billions of records, including drivers’ names, license information, and the make and model of their cars.
It was revealed that the Kremlin’s top propagandists owned some extremely expensive vehicles, from a vintage Rolls Royce to a 1960 Porsche 911 worth £150,000, despite the president’s express hatred of flashy engines.
Last year, Putin called on authorities to start using domestically-made cars instead of foreign-made vehicles to get from A to B.
He said: “[Government] ministries, departments and agencies asked to continue buying… foreign-made cars. It’s out of the question.”
The president noted that authorities would have to get used to “more modest” cars.
Previously, Putin’s police carried out a crackdown on drivers showing off their foreign vehicles on the streets of Moscow, detaining many of their “rich and successful” owners at a Western car rally in the capital.
Russia’s government has reportedly continued to buy cars from the hated West, purchasing 151 foreign-made cars – worth £4.6 million – in August 2023 alone, according to Russian media.
Vladimir Solovyov, who hosts a TV show where he talks at length about Putin’s achievements, owns a 1960 Rolls Royce Silver Spur worth around £150,000, according to the leaked documents.
His fleet also includes a 2005 Porsche 911, a 1996 BMW Z3, a 2007 Jeep Wrangler and a 2006 Mercedes Benz R-Class.
Ukrainian hackers, a team from KibOrgwrote: “It is interesting that already during the full-scale war with Ukraine and after the introduction of international sanctions against the propagandist, Solovyov bought at least three more cars – two Mercedes-Benz V-Klasse minibuses and a Toyota Granvia.”
Solovyov has expressed his support for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, declaring on the day: “Today is the day when a fair operation for denazification in Ukraine was launched.”
War-hungry Dmitry Kiselyov, who was appointed by Putin to head Russian state media group Rossiya Segodnya, owns several vehicles, according to the hackers, including a 2012 Ducati Hypermotard 796 valued at £5,300 and a 2004 BMW F650GS.
The propagandist is also said to have a pair of 2002 Land Rovers, while his eighth and current wife, Maria, drives a 2016 Range Rover Evoque worth £46,000, which he “has a license to use”.
Kiselyov has already made threats of World War III and warned in 2022 that Russia could overthrow the British in a “radioactive wave”.
Maksym Sokolov, an economist and politician who served as transport minister from 2012 to 2018, and now chairman of major Russian automaker Avtovaz, appears to favor German car brands.
Although he doesn’t own any cars himself, the documents state he has “many licenses,” and his son Maxim owns three: a Mercedes-Benz V-Class, a 2019 BMW Z4 convertible and a 2020 BMW 840.
Prices for a 2019 BMW Z4 roadster start at around £37,000, according to AutoExpresso.
Dmitry Pronin, the director of Moskvich, formerly Renault Russia, owns a Mercedes-Benz E-Class – but reportedly also drives his wife’s £40,000 Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class.
Putin’s millionaire deputy defense minister Timur Ivanov is said to own two Rolls Royce cars with his wife Svetlana, who has been described as a “shopaholic” capable of spending millions on a spree.
One photo showed Svetlana behind the wheel of one of her Rolls Royce cars, worth around £115,000.
Ivanov was arrested in April this year and accused of accepting “large-scale” bribes.
He is known for living luxuriously in a huge mansion and regularly takes month-long vacations with his wife in a sprawling villa in France.
The couple once paid £150,000 to rent the villa for a month, as well as £82,000 to rent a yacht, according to documents obtained by the Russian Anti-Corruption Foundation.
The leak comes after it was revealed earlier this year that Putin’s cronies were receiving luxury cars from criminal gangs in the UK.
It was assumed that the gangs were stealing vehicles from Britain and sending them to Russia to be delivered to the dictator’s right-hand men.
Police acting on a tip-off discovered Bentley, Audi and Toyota cars worth £250,000 crushed in a container with a £300,000 Rolls Royce Dawn nestled among the remains of 13 other crushed cars.
Lavish life of Putin’s shamed war chief
INVESTIGATORS say Ivanov made millions over the years through corrupt deals to finance his lavish lifestyle.
Ivanov and his glamorous shopaholic ex-wife Svetlana own a huge mansion along with two Rolls Royces.
The Russian Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF) alleges she laundered “blood money” her husband earned from the war in Ukraine.
According to the ACF, in 2020, Svetlana alone spent around £1.1 million, despite the couple having a joint official income of £260,000.
The couple regularly took a month-long holiday to a sprawling villa in the south of France, where they used a Rolls-Royce Corniche to drive around – one of two they own.
They once spent £150,000 a month renting a villa there and also £82,000 renting a yacht, according to documents obtained by ACF.
One birthday party she held in Istanbul alone cost £157,000.
It was also alleged that the Ivanovs own several elite properties in Russia “worth hundreds of millions of rubles” and “spend hundreds of millions more on their repairs.”
Among the properties they own is a huge mansion on the banks of the Volga River.
The couple married in 2010 and were serenaded by German band Modern Talking, who were paid £62,000 for their appearance.
They were regularly photographed partying alongside the Russian elite, drinking champagne.
Spending also included £75,000 on 19th century furniture, £21,000 on gold statues, £7,500 on a gold watch and £6,200 on glass birds, as well as £107,400 on antiques and £11,000 on bathroom accessories.
The pair are believed to be currently separated.
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