"Navalny's documentary is gripping because it reveals both the immensity of the tsar's wealth but also the shabbiness of his soul. Dictators murder decor like they murder people. Idi Amin's sordid bungalow, Saddam's pre-cast cement palaces in Northern Iraq, Kim Il Sung's waxwork house, I've seen them all and they smack – how can I put this diplomatically? – of Cupid Stunt. [...] The palace estate stretches out for 70 million square metres, is owned by the FSB, fully leased until 2068 for 'research and educational activities', boasts state-of-the-art communication towers, its own gas station and boilers. There is an almighty fence to keep out the riff-raff, an amphitheatre, a secret tunnel leading from the palace to the beach, a window cut in bare rock so that the dictator can admire a sea view just like a Bond villain from his lair."
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Original Language: English
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pp. 208-211
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Sweeney_(journalist)
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John Sweeney (journalist)
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