Court disputes, satellite images and construction job adverts\noffering accommodation by a swimming pool, free meals and cash payments\nhave revealed how Russian President Vladimir Putin is expanding his\nresidence on the Black Sea.<\/p>\n
The Bocharov Ruchey retreat in Sochi was used by previous Russian\nleaders, from Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev to Boris\nYeltsin.<\/p>\n
Putin first stayed at the government-owned residence before his\ninauguration as president in May 2000. He has often hosted foreign\nleaders there.<\/p>\n
In 2008, it became the official residence of the Russian president.\nThis means the head of state can live and work there and perform all\nofficial duties, including those of commander-in-chief, said Vladimir\nKozhin, head of the Department of Presidential Property Management of\nthe Russian Federation.<\/p>\n
Putin visited Sochi 24 times in 2021, a year before the full-scale\ninvasion of Ukraine, but only twice in 2024 and 2025, according to the\nFinancial Times. His reduced travel to the Black Sea coast coincided\nwith Ukrainian drones reaching the shoreline more frequently.<\/p>\n
However, an investigation by BBC News Russian has revealed that the\nRussian government is rebuilding the residence from scratch on a much\nlarger scale and with significantly tighter security.<\/p>\n
The demolition of the Russian head of state\u2019s residence began in\n2024, without any public announcement by the authorities. By September\n2025, a large excavation had appeared at the site.<\/p>\n
In 2026, Russia\u2019s state security service, the FSO, strengthened\nprotection around Bocharov Ruchey and established a security zone\ncovering more than three square kilometres.<\/p>\n
By autumn 2026, satellite images analysed by BBC News Russian showed\nthe roofs of several new large buildings, covering a much wider area\nthan the former residence.<\/p>\n
However, not every part of the original complex has been demolished.\nBocharov Ruchey-2, built for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, remains\nintact. Putin continued to receive high-ranking guests there, including\nInternational Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi in 2024.<\/p>\n
The authorities have made no announcement about the new construction.\nBut BBC News Russian\u2019s investigation uncovered a trail of documents.<\/p>\n
In a court ruling concerning a dispute between contractors, BBC News\nRussian found a reference to a state defence procurement contract with\nthe code 2327202903572000000000000.<\/p>\n
Information about such contracts is restricted, but the code reveals\nseveral important details. The first four digits indicate the contract\u2019s\nsigning and end years: 2023 and 2027. The next three digits, 202, are\nthe FSO\u2019s code, identifying it as the contracting authority.<\/p>\n
By examining further court rulings concerning disputes with\nsubcontractors working at Bocharov Ruchey, BBC News Russian found that\nthe main contractor was TSI Group, registered in Crimea.<\/p>\n
One dispute involved the Sevastopol design institute\nVoenmorproekt-30, which fell behind schedule only a few months after\nconstruction began, in early 2025. Breaches were also identified in the\nconstruction of a wall for the \u201cmain house\u201d, work awarded to a company\nfrom Orenburg.<\/p>\n
BBC News Russian also found social media and recruitment-service\nadverts seeking construction workers, including bricklayers, steel\nfixers and concrete specialists. Some mentioned Bocharov Ruchey.<\/p>\n
\u201cA residence is being built,\u201d read one notice. \u201cAccess control system\n\u2013 Bocharov Ruchey.\u201d Another warned: \u201cThis is a strategic facility.\u201d<\/p>\n
One advert, posted in January 2025, said builders were urgently\nneeded for a two-storey building at a \u201crestricted-access site requiring\na pass\u201d in Sochi, and offered cash payment. Another, later that year,\nreferred to a four-storey building at a site with access controls and\npassport checks.<\/p>\n
Putin (right) works out in his private gym at Bocharov Ruchey in 2015\nwith then Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. (Kremlin)<\/p>\n
Initially, only Russian citizens with no criminal record could apply.\n\u201cA background check is required,\u201d one advert stated.<\/p>\n
The requirements later became less strict. Applicants were also\nsought from Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. They were offered\naccommodation \u201cin a hostel with a swimming pool\u201d or in flats, three\nmeals a day, free equipment and work clothes.<\/p>\n
Preference was given to complete teams \u201cwith their own engineers and\nsupervisors\u201d, although individual workers on shifts were also\naccepted.<\/p>\n
\u201cTechnical supervision is not strict,\u201d one advert said. \u201cRussia\u2019s\ninternal security service monitors the cash flow, so everything is fair\nand transparent.\u201d<\/p>\n
By 2026, the site was recruiting workers for interior work, including\nfitting lights, plumbing and installing doors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe volume is enormous; we need a lot of people \u2013 but they must be\nspecialists,\u201d one recruiter wrote, warning that the facility was\n\u201cclosed\u201d and all employees would undergo security checks.<\/p>\n
Construction Minister Irek Faizullin (left) and TSI\u2019s Alexei Fomenko\ndiscuss the reconstruction of the Artek international children\u2019s centre.\n(Minstroy RF)<\/p>\n
TSI and its affiliated group, Transstroiinvest, are not newcomers to\nconstruction projects linked to the government and security\nservices.<\/p>\n
Before Bocharov Ruchey, Transstroiinvest had built another residence\nfor Putin. In 2019, the independent Russian investigative outlet Project\nreported that the company was involved in constructing a state residence\nin the settlement of Oliva on the southern coast of annexed Crimea. The\nsite had previously housed a state retreat used by the Soviet party\nelite and, later, senior Ukrainian officials.<\/p>\n
BBC News Russian found court rulings confirming this, along with\ncourt documents that referred to the facility as a \u201cpresidential\nresidence\u201d.<\/p>\n
Transstroiinvest continues to work in Russian-occupied Ukrainian\nterritory, including on the renovation of Pobeda, Mariupol\u2019s oldest\ncinema, in the city occupied by Russia in 2022.<\/p>\n
Between 2022 and 2025, TSI also secured 54 contracts worth about\nUS$330 million (around Rp5.9 trillion), according to state contract\nrecords, for the reconstruction of the Artek international children\u2019s\ncentre in Crimea.<\/p>\n
BBC News Russian sent questions about the Bocharov Ruchey\nconstruction to representatives of Transstroiinvest, including property\ndeveloper Alexei Fomenko, 47, believed to be a beneficiary of TSI; Putin\nassociate Arkady Rotenberg, who has been linked to Fomenko; and\npresidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov. None responded.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/why-is-russia-secretly-expanding-putins-residence-1791885247", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }