After the introduction of sanctions against 351 State Duma deputies, the authorities of European countries began to close the airspace for aircraft from Russia.
Basically, Russians who have foreign properties are unable to access them now. About 24 members of the State Duma and the Federation Council have family members who own properties abroad. The Daily Storm reached out to some politicians to get their thoughts on the current situation. Spoiler: MPs don't regret their choices.
What will happen to the real estate owned by Russian politicians?
Experts believe that after sanctions are imposed, foreign assets of deputies will be frozen. However, it's unlikely that the properties of Russians will be taken away. Irina Radchenko, President of the International Academy of Mortgage and Real Estate, said that European authorities cannot seize foreigners' properties without a court decision. Therefore, most likely, the properties will simply be sealed until the situation improves.
“There needs to be a valid reason for confiscation. If people are simply stripped of their properties, it will make many countries less attractive for investment. Why do people invest in London? Because the courts there operate fairly, not based on orders from above. In addition, legal proceedings take a long time, sometimes five or 10 years,” the expert explained.
According to Ivan Timofeev, a member of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), after the assets are frozen, the real estate will become a burden. It won't be possible to cover the costs, sell, or rent it out. However, the expert noted that these restrictions may not affect the immediate family members.
“From the perspective of EU law, sanctions don't apply to families. If some real estate officially belongs to another person, such as a relative, they can still use it for now,” the RIAC member specified.
However, the expert mentioned that there's currently an issue with accessing this property. European countries are working on lifting visa restrictions for Russians, but all flights for Russian aircraft over EU countries are effectively suspended. As of March 1, a total of 37 countries have closed their airspace, including the US and Canada. Regarding the real estate of parliamentarians who are not subject to sanctions, all that remains is to wait for the restrictions to be lifted, according to Timofeev.
Which countries have politicians chosen for their properties?
According to Daily Storm's estimates, about 24 parliamentarians from the State Duma and the Federation Council have mentioned overseas properties in their past declarations. In some cases, the owners were the spouses of politicians. Senators and deputies have reported properties in various countries, including post-Soviet nations. However, Bulgaria and Spain were the most popular destinations.
Six members of the Federation Council have foreign properties. According to the 2020 declaration, Senator Dmitry Saveliev owns a house in the UK. Politician Andrei Klishas owns a country house in Switzerland. As of 2020, Senator Sergey Lukin owned a 30-meter apartment in Montenegro. Lyubov Glebova shares a piece of land and a house in Germany with her husband, while Senator Alexander Bryksin, as per an old Duma declaration, has an apartment in Spain. Senator Oleksandr Yaroshuk stands out from the list. The last time he reported owning a house in Belarus.
On February 24, Belarus closed its airspace for security reasons, but people can still travel to the country from neighboring Russia by land. Other countries have also restricted access to their airspace for Russian aircraft. This includes Montenegro, which is a candidate for NATO membership, and Switzerland, which is not part of the alliance.
According to estimates from Daily Storm, at least 18 deputies in the VIII convocation of the State Duma may have overseas real estate, including their spouses. Four politicians have declared ownership of property in Spain. In the 2020 declaration, Nikolai Valuev's wife and Vadim Belousov's wife owned a house in Spain. Additionally, Deputy Konstantin Zatulin directly owned living space in Spain, and Arkady Ponomarev owned three more apartments.
Four parliamentarians also reported owning real estate in Bulgaria. Former Federation Council member and current State Duma deputy Viktor Smirnov owns seasonal apartments. Additionally, Sergey Pakhomov, Maxim Topilin, and Mikhail Berulava indicated that their wives own real estate in Bulgaria in 2020. On February 26, the Bulgarian authorities announced the closure of airspace for Russian ships due to the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
Deputies also disclosed ownership of real estate in other countries. For example, Andrei Gorokhov owns property in Austria, and Vladimir Blotsky indicated ownership of a plot with a house in the UK in the 2020 declaration.
Valery Gartung's wife owns real estate in Switzerland and Cyprus, and Oksana Dmitrieva's husband owns property in Greece, as reported to the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg.
Oleg Savchenko, a deputy of the Volgograd Regional Duma, reported ownership of a residential building in Italy. Rifat Shaikhutdinov's wife also owns real estate in Italy. Shaikhutdinov himself owns a farm in Finland.
The deputy from Bashkortostan is not the only one who owns property in countries bordering Russia. For instance, Vladislav Tretyak has two apartments and a plot in Latvia, Svetlana Savitskaya's husband owns real estate in Belarus, and Crimean Leonid Babashov reported real estate in Ukraine in his previous declaration, including land in the Kiev region. Another MP, Otari Arshba, shares an apartment with his wife in Georgia.
Air traffic with the Transcaucasian country was interrupted in 2019, and in late February – early March, other countries began closing their airspace after the start of the military operation in Ukraine. Russia retaliated by closing flights for aircraft from 36 countries.
We cherish our Motherland more than anything!
Foreign property owners interviewed by Daily Storm unanimously stated that they do not regret their decisions and are not currently concerned about the fate of their property.
Konstantin Zatulin, a member of the 'United Russia' and the Committee on CIS Affairs, has long been under sanctions from Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Estonia. In addition to the physical inability to access his property in Spain, the European Union has imposed restrictions on him. In a conversation with Daily Storm, the deputy mentioned that he last visited Spain in January 2022, and had not been there for more than two years prior to that.
“I take it easy. As for my apartment, this apartment is not for me a condition for my position, which I take on this or that issue, ”commented Zatulin.
The wife of a deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Berulava, owns two apartments in Bulgaria of 50 square meters each. According to the deputy, before the call of the Daily Storm correspondent, he did not even think about them. He is now worried about completely different issues.
“The main thing is that people do not die. Our president did the right thing. It is necessary that there be peace, that Russia feel calm and prosper. And about all this later, no big deal. Sanctions don’t even bother me, ”Berulava, who also fell under EU sanctions, shared his thoughts.
The wife of Sergei Pakhomov, chairman of the State Duma committee on construction and housing and communal services, owns an apartment in Bulgaria together with her parents. Pakhomov is not sure that over the past few years his wife has been there at all. According to the deputy, he himself visited a foreign apartment only once in his life. Therefore, his family does not worry about restrictions.
“Even if you have to give it away, let it be taken away, there are no problems in this. Our Motherland is dearer to us. Let them choke, we won’t even lift a finger. Previously, it was clear that these sanctions would be introduced anyway,” Pakhomov assured.
Arkady Ponomarev, a deputy and owner of Molvest, is also under sanctions. Recall that he owns three apartments in Spain. However, the deputy told the Daily Storm that he did not even know what state they were in. He assured that he had not been in this country for more than two years, and therefore the separation from his foreign property does not bother him. Even if it is expropriated by the Spanish government.
“Any similar apartment in Moscow or Sochi is much more expensive. And even if we assume that I will have this loss, I will still vote the way I voted. This is not a vital issue for me. It’s about the same as if something breaks down or my car gets into an accident – well, it’s a pity, but so what?” Ponomarev summed up.
