Odd News

Russia to auction Yeltsin hideaway

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-03-21 13:31

MOSCOW - On sale soon to the highest bidder: Boris Yeltsin's favourite dacha.

The Kremlin is auctioning off a vacation spot much loved by the late Russian president, a lakeside hotel complex in the woods of Karelia, east of Finland, complete with covered tennis court, sauna, boathouse and boiler room.

Starting price: 285.6 million roubles ($10 million).

The Shuiskaya Chupa resort complex will be offered for sale on April 15, the presidential administration's property management department said.

Yeltsin, who died in 2007, would often spend down time at Shuiskaya Chupa, 680 km (420 miles) north of Moscow, during his decade as president.

Both Yeltsin's successor, Vladimir Putin, and current President Dmitry Medvedev seem to prefer Bocharov Ruchei, an ornate residence much further south in Sochi, on the Black Sea.

The state is selling the property because it is no longer needed, according to the news site gazeta.ru. The presidential property department could not be reached for comment on Friday.

The resort includes a three-storey hotel, a two-storey house and four cottages. According to gazeta.ru, it features heated floors, crystal chandeliers and a billiard room.

The buyer will get the furniture, artworks and pretty much everything else inside the concrete wall that surrounds it, including the wall.

But not including the land. The 50 hectare (124 acre) parcel is available separately for purchase or long-term lease, gazeta.ru said.

Oh, and if you haven't pinned down your summer plans yet: foreigners are welcome.