Putin’s Sochi residence was demolished and rebuilt from scratch. A contractor linked to his friend Arkady Rotenberg is behind the project, BBC’s Russian Service reports.
Vladimir Putin's Bocharov Ruchey residence in Sochi has been demolished and rebuilt since 2024, with new structures largely complete by fall 2026, according to BBC's Russian Service. The general contractor is Crimea-based Transstroyinvest Group, tied to Putin ally Arkady Rotenberg through developer Alexei Fomenko, whose company also built dachas for Putin and FSB director Alexander Bortnikov and reconstructed the Artek children's camp.
The reconstruction runs under a classified state defense contract covering 2023 to 2027, awarded without competitive bidding, its 25-digit identifier traced by journalists through court records rather than any official disclosure. BBC could not pin down the total price tag but found subcontract postings ranging from 90 million to 500 million rubles, with workers recruited online and warned the site was 'strategic' and would require background checks in exchange for cash pay and a hostel with a pool.
BBC notes the building boom continues even as Putin's own visits to Sochi have dwindled sharply since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, from 24 trips before the war down to twice a year in 2024 and 2025 as Ukrainian drones reach further into the Black Sea coast.
The full dispatch is available from the source below.