Recently I found out
that Mykola Azarov, a former prime-minister of Ukraine and leader
of Party of Regions, owns a mansion in an elite suburb of Moscow.
Unlike m any of the
previous cases about the real estate that had been bought by fugitive
corrupt officials, this case is officially documented.
So, the mansion of
the Azarov family is located in the private complex Monolit in Moscow
region, Istrynskiy district. The complex is located in Voronyno
Village, some 21 kilometers from Moscow along Novorizhsky Highway.
I received photos of
the plan for this property, which is posted at the checkpoint to
this elite reserve, from a whistle-blower. Section number 35 here is
marked the property of Oleksiy Azarov, the son of Mykola Azarov who
is still a deputy at the Verkhovna Rada from Slavyansk district in
eastern Ukraine.
Together with
journalists of the Russian Business Channel we managed to get a
statement from the Russian Consolidated State Register of Real Estate
and Titles.
According to the
documents, this land got a new owner on March 21, 2014, a month
after the regime of former President Viktor Yanukovych was overthrown
and after the escape of all his gang to Russia.
The owner of this
estate is Eduard Fatkhulin, Oleksiy Azarov`s father-in-law.
The daughter of
Fatkhulin Oleksiy Azarov’s wife and owner of the now-abandoned art
gallery in Vienna as well as a Publishing House Publishing
Deluxe Holding GmbH.
At the moment a
similar land plot of 0.4 hectares in Monolit village is selling for
$8.5 million. It’s not that bad for a clan that was ruling Ukraine
for the last 15 years.
By the way of
comparison, a mansion that was owned by former Prime Minister Pavlo
Lazarenko with 10 bedrooms, located in a nature preserve in
California, was sold in August for $ 5 million dollars.
The lifestyle of the
Azarov family at the moment are similar to how they lived in Ukraine.
In both places, they were isolated from the real life with a high
fence of elitism.
This is how a real
estate broker advertises Monolit : “There is a school, children’s
playgrounds, rest zones, pond, church, a detached house for staff on
the territory of village.”
“It was designed
by a famous architect in neoclassical style. Gorgeous pond with
streaming water surrounded by alcoves and Arc de Triumph completes
the architectural ensemble. The other chic elements of the design
include Central Boulevard, a clock tower, a rotunda, and a lit-up
entrance to the village”.
Superstitious Azarov
can pray for forgiveness in an Orthodox church located on this
territory.
Besides, children of
Oleksiy Azarov can go to school even without leaving the territory of
this ghetto:
“The Moscow
Lomonosow School chose this very elite residential complex as a site
for their new branch.. One can also find children’s playgrounds,
tennis courts, swimming pools, football fields, gym, sauna, Russian
bath and much more on this territory.”
What about
additional perks for the luxury-loving Azarov family?
“Residents of the
town complex Monolit become members of the English Club and the
closed-membership Minolit Moscow Club which gives new opportunities
and advantages.”
It’s not that
interesting what awaits Oleksiy Azarov, but the prospects of the
former prime minister are not difficult to imagine -a fat pension,
curses of compatriots and a not-so-pompous funeral in his native
Russia.
We can only hope
that Ukraine will have an opportunity to seize the Azarov property
after a change of power in the Kremlin. And may this thought keep the
elite Ukrainian refugees warm during long Moscow evenings.
Serhiy Leshchenko is a former investigative journalist who is currently running for parliament on the list of President Petro Poroshenko’s bloc.
