PUTIN'S PLANE DRIPS WITH GOLD

GOLD. Everywhere your eye turns, there's glitter.

The taps, the shower, washbasins, towel rail, table legs and even the seatbelt clasps are gold-plated.

Welcome on board the Russian 'Air Force One'.

The gleaming interior of Russian President Vladimir Putin's Ilyushin 96-300 jet is sure to leave the US president's famed jets way behind in the opulence standings. It is estimated to have been decorated at a cost of about 10 million ($30 m).

The walls of the plane are lined with white Russian silk, and decorated with the national crest and exquisite pictures of traditional Russian scenes.

The seats are covered in leather imported from Italy - they're upholstered by the same company that Aston Martin uses, reported the Daily Mail.

An elaborate gold clock hangs on one wall and desks are covered in a rich walnut veneer.

There's an impressive meeting room with a long table and nine large chairs upholstered in dark green leather.

But when work is done and there's a need to relax, Mr Putin and his fellow passengers can sit and drink from the jet's fine crystal glasses as they watch shows from the state-of-the-art, flat-screen TV entertainment system.

These are only some of the many modern conveniences on board. There are also a dishwasher, cooker and fridge-freezer.

STUNNING

But, it is the bathrooms that are stunning.

The entire washbasin is gold-plated, as are the fittings of the lavatory, bidet and towel rail. The shower is also trimmed with gold.

Given Putin's past links to the KGB and the communist past of Russia, it may come as a surprise to some to see religious images on board the plane. In the lounge, there is a tapestry depicting a Russian Orthodox saint next to a specially-created gold box containing a Bible and prayer books.

The interiors of the plane were done by a British firm in Bristol in 2001-02.

At that time, Deputy Chief Designer Oleg Glushkov, who was part of the interior design team, said in a BBC report that the decor is quite restrained, with no gold or silver - just plastic and stainless steel.

The only sop to tradition are the walls, which are covered with silk, Mr Glushkov said.

All these years, no one has really seen the plane's interiors.

However, photos began to appear on the Internet recently and Mr Putin was upset.

He ordered the Russian secret service, the FSB, to hunt down the man who put them online.

The blogger who published them was quoted in the Daily Mail as saying: 'I soon realised the FSB had been into the site to examine where the photographs had come from.

'I decided to put the pictures on the Internet after seeing a programme on Russian TV about the plane - how it was covered by state secrecy and nothing could be revealed about it.

'I just couldn't resist (doing it).'

In a strange twist, the British firm that did the interiors seem to have been hit by a curse. Expecting another two similar lucrative orders from Russia, Diamonite's chairman Dave Cox spent 1.5m on a new factory. But the deal collapsed - and so did his company.

Putin is an emperor. They always lavish themselves with such things.
And then they're usually killed by someone even more ruthless than they.

naw, nobody's gonna off him, even though he's clamping down big time on democracy, he's still the people's favorite, notably because he has charisma, he's intelligent, and more importantly, he's brough economic stability to a country that was in an anarchical state.

if he decides to retain power after next year's elections instead of naming a friendly successor, THEN things might get ugly

IDK, the people don't seem to be all that crazy about him. Don't confuse ruthlessness for intelligence. There are far too many deaths around him, popov, if he needs to kill people to keep the lid on things then he is going to take a big fall.

No that's the thing - the problem - what people don't understand is WHY he's getting rid of the opposition - he doesn't NEED to do it, even if Russia was a democratic nation with free media sources, free speech etc, he would still be the most popular candidate - obviously the fear is then that he's clamping down because he wants to become a dictator or something. I honestly don't know what Putin sees in Russia's future, and I don't think a lot of people in Russia or the rest of the world know either. I guess we'll see soon.

Stalin had been popular at one time, so was Hitler. I don't think either one of them are candidates for great leadership.

old goat wrote:Stalin had been popular at one time, so was Hitler. I don't think either one of them are candidates for great leadership.

I wouldn't go that far

Why? Both of them were guilty of offing their competition as well. Putin's actions are being noticed by the world, and he could give a rat's azz. That is dangerous.

Putin, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Saddam.
Birds of a feather.