This yacht makes Bond’s boat look like it is a dinghy.
Vladimir Putin, who continues to attack Ukraine with troops, did not spare any expense in his $700 million superyacht. It even has its own dance floor and toilet paper holders.
The luxury yacht is 495 feet long and moored in Marina di Carrara, Italy. There are many swimming pools, a spa and a sauna. A theatre, ballrooms, a gymnasium, and two helipads.
The opulent watercraft is known as Scheherazade, after the Persian queen of literature. It was originally valued at PS500 million ($6.6million), but insiders have put it closer to PS750million ($990 million).
It appears Putin has put his money where his mouth is. Sun photos show the six-story mansion with its swanky amenities. There is a 16-foot aquarium and multiple TVs, including one that spans an entire wall. Also, there is a pool table that can be leveled so guests can still play when the waves are rough.
Bathrooms are equipped with toilet paper holders and King Midas-evoking taps. There is also a tile floor that can be converted into a swimming pool. Scheherazade is believed to be the only ship in the world that has this feature, according to the Sun. The other yacht is Graceful, which is Putin’s second yacht.
The Russian president added personal touches to the superyacht, such as a judo area with framed black belt pictures and various books that showcase the autocrat’s love of wealth.
An unnamed boatbuilder said to the Sun that every surface is either gold or marble. The worker found the vessel particularly bizarre in light of current events.
“It is hard to swallow the fact that the most incredible ship in the world is owned by a man intent on bombing civilians in Ukraine,” he continued. “And it is an unimaginable amount of wealth when the average Russian’s salary is PS5,000 a year, and people there are struggling to eat.”
This ritzy vessel is not just for pleasure cruises. Scheherazade is a model of the superyacht of the baddie in “Thunderball.” It can transform in a matter of seconds from a party boat into a battleship with a state-of-the-art security system that can shoot down drones.
If that wasn’t ostentatious enough, the superyacht-cum-aircraft-carrier also contains two helipads and a hangar than can house a helicopter, six Jet Skis, five dinghies, and eight Seabob underwater scooters.
Scheherazade was constructed over two years ago. The vessel’s alleged connections to Putin were discovered recently by activists associated with Alexei Navalny, a Kremlin critic who was jailed. They claimed that some crew members worked for the Federal Security Service which manages the security of the Russian leader.
“To sum up, a dozen of Vladimir Putin’s personal guards and servants are constantly maintaining one of the world’s largest yachts docked in an Italian port,” investigative journalist and Navalny ally Maria Pevchikh wrote on Twitter Monday.
During a Tuesday address to Italy’s parliament, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with Italy to seize the assets of Putin, his supporters, and others who he claimed frequented Italy, The Guardian reported.
“Don’t be a resort for murderers,” he said, urging Italian authorities to seize every yacht “from the Scheherazade to the smallest ones.”The ship is currently being investigated by authorities for potential ties to sanctioned Russians.
Italian officials confiscated several superyachts that Russian oligarchs had owned earlier in March. These included Alexey Mordashov’s 213-foot vessel , Gennady Timothychenko’s 132-foot watercraft, and Audrey Melnichenko’s superyacht, which is worth $578 million.
These seizures are part of a new effort to punish Putin and his close associates over Russia’s brutal attack on Ukraine that began Feb. 24, 2014.
