While Viktor Medvedchuk, head of the Opposition Platform For Life party, is under house arrest and under sanctions, his main estate near Kiev has been undergoing renovations.
This is reported by the journalists of “Schemes”, who had at their disposal unique drawings – plans for all floors of the “palace” of the people’s deputy.
The house was built on the former territory of state dachas, which was privatized in the early 2000s. According to the ex-head of the State Property Fund Mikhail Chechetov, this was done illegally, due to pressure from Medvedchuk himself.
The total area of the “palace” of more than a hundred separate rooms exceeds 2,000 square meters. It has two elevators, a fur coat store, a swimming pool, a massage room, a hairdresser’s, a gym, a painting warehouse, a fireplace room, maid’s rooms, a security observation point, its own church and a number of other objects.
Medvedchuk’s wife Oksana Marchenko has previously declared her readiness to tell everyone about their lifestyle, but at the same time she called it simple and unpretentious.
Estate in Pushcha-Voditsa
Medvedchuk’s estate near the historical area of Pushcha-Voditsa was built in such a way that it is impossible to approach it: neither from the ground nor from the air. The entrance to the estate is a checkpoint with an observation point and a high gate.
The sky above the house was also inaccessible for a long time. In 2020, Schemes journalists tried to launch a drone over Medvedchuk’s territory, but to no avail. It looks like the politician’s guards are using a drone obstruction technique.
Later, the journalists nevertheless managed to raise one of the drones with more power and better cameras over the territory of the “palace” of Putin’s godfather.
“Chechetov set out everything in detail in this confession and in his explanations. He clearly indicates that Viktor Medvedchuk exerted psychological pressure on him when Mikhail Chechetov headed the State Property Fund of Ukraine. He also exerted psychological pressure, demanded that he sign the relevant agreements and transfer the property of the state in Pushcha-Vodytsia to the ownership of FC Dynamo (Kyiv), after which Medvedchuk and the Surkis brothers gained control over state land,” said lawyer Oleg Simoroz, who got acquainted with documents.
In 2000, there was almost nothing on the site, and in 2005 the territory was divided and already built up. Medvedchuk and the Surkises became owners of huge estates and neighbors. Now the people’s deputy’s building is under repair, so he is serving house arrest in his other house.
Dungeon of Medvedchuk’s estate
In the right wing of the basement there is a maid’s room with two beds and a shower room with a toilet. The next room is the laundry room. Diagonally, there is a room almost 4 times larger – this is a separate wardrobe for dresses. As is known from the declaration, Oksana Marchenko only has 34 dresses from the Dolce & Gabbana brand.
There is a separate room for storing paintings – the spouses have 530 of them, excluding 227 icons. 14 Iranian and 10 Italian carpets are apparently stored in the carpet warehouse. He, next to the composition of suitcases, a warehouse of tablecloths and a fur coat. The left wing of the basement floor consists of residential blocks M and J. These can be rooms for male and female staff or two bunkers.
To the north there is a recreation area: a hydromassage, massage, salt room, a hot tub area with the note “to be agreed with the customer” and a technical area. There is a separate room with an area of 28 square meters, signed as “Christmas decorations warehouse”.
Hairdresser, massage, swimming pool and secret room
Immediately behind the main door of the first floor is a hall of 95 squares with an elevator. To the left is the dining room, and behind it is the staircase to the wine cellar, the kitchen and the service room. The last room is probably needed to store the Fabergé service for 12 people and the Hermes service for 24 people declared by Medvedchuk.
Next is the zone of those who serve the house. They have a separate entrance, reception, security room and a service elevator. On the right is Marchenko’s office, where you can, for example, write blogs.
In the right wing there are rooms and bathrooms with the abbreviation GB. It can be assumed that this is a guest block. Behind him is a cedar wardrobe. It has two levels. Each is 30 square meters.
Medvedchuk’s office has an area of 45 square meters. It also has a secret room with 11 squares. On the same floor there is a fireplace room. Gym on the plan – next to your own hairdresser. On this floor, as well as on the basement, there is a massage room. There is also a sauna, hammam and relaxation room. In addition, the “palace” has a swimming pool with a length of more than 18 meters.
Church, bar area, loft
The second floor is reserved for the bedroom. On the right – the owners, another two-tier wardrobe of Marchenko and Medvedchuk’s wardrobe. On the left is the guest bedroom and the bedrooms of the children of the spouses – Putin’s goddaughter Daria Medvedchuk and Marchenko’s son – Bogdan Marchenko, with personal bathrooms and dressing rooms. On the same floor there are 6 balconies. Among them: the balcony of the fireplace room and the balcony of the pool.
The top floor is, first of all, a place for prayer. The home chapel is indicated on the drawings as a home church with an area of 43 squares. Medvedchuk’s declaration lists 227 icons. It is noteworthy that the church borders on the bar area. On the floor there is another balcony, a guest bedroom and a room with no clear purpose, labeled as “multifunctional”.
In total, Schemes journalists counted 114 rooms in Medvedchuk’s “palace”. According to the declaration, the total area of the house is 2,113 square meters.
Before publishing this material, the journalists once again raised the drone over the territory and noticed significant changes. There are no longer any scaffolding around the facade. The builders also finished concrete the path and almost completed the construction of a new gazebo in the yard.
Despite the fact that Schemes managed to obtain information about contractors, and sources provided information about the movement of funds in their bank accounts, journalists did not find among the payers any companies or individuals associated with Medvedchuk or Marchenko, who theoretically could pay for palace renovation. Thus, journalists have only a working version that those who work on the reconstruction of the house could be paid in cash.