The declared income of Wladimir Putin in 2021 it is very different from what is expected of one of the most powerful men in the world and according to some even the richest. In fact, last year the President of the Russian Federation reported an income of just 114,000 euros and a house of just 77 square meters in Moscow, in addition to two locally produced cars, a compact car and an SUV , and a trailer. No maxi yacht, no extra luxury villa, no exorbitant wealth for the man rocking the world and for his associates, the 32 senior Russian government officials who, like Putin, have reported incomes well below “imaginable”.
His prime minister Mikhail Mishustin, for example that at the current exchange rate, euros more or less, about 200,000 euros are declared. But also Dmitry Medvedev, former Prime Minister and current Vice President of the Security Council, declares incomes that certainly cannot be classified as millionaires, amounting to just over 90,000 euros. Of course, compared to the average salary of a Russian citizen, which does not exceed 500 euros per month at the current exchange rate, these figures give an idea of the wealth system in the hands of a few that has shaped the Russian economy over the past few decades.
But don’t be fooled by the country’s reported income numbers, as both Putin and his government’s top officials are moving most of their wealth abroad. It may seem paradoxical to officials of a country always striving for hegemony, but it is enough to take a look at Russian investments in Italy, to cite just one example, to understand where the oligarchs’ capitals really are go lying down It should be emphasized that in many cases luxury goods abroad are not in the name of the oligarchs, but can be traced back to them via companies. Because of this, it is often difficult for police forces across Europe and beyond to identify the assets of listed oligarchs sanctions after the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
The minister Sergey Lavrov, for example, as reported by Corriere della Sera, in 2021 declared 141,000 euros. Not a little, of course, but the newspaper shows that in 2016, five years ago, the current Foreign Secretary bought an apartment worth 5.3 million euros for his partner’s daughter in the London residential area of South Kensington. Then there’s the case Dmitry PeskovSpokesman for Vladimir Putin, who says he earns €162,000, while his wife, former Olympic skating champion Tatiana Navka, said €2.4 million.