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Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin - Source: Reuters
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin earns 11% more than his
boss, President Dmitry Medvedev, according to asset declarations
released under a Kremlin anti-graft drive.
Medvedev, who ordered the disclosures, is technically the most
powerful man in Russia, but observers have long claimed that former
president Putin is really in charge.
In 2008 Putin earned 4.6 million roubles, 11% more than the 4.14
million roubles declared by Medvedev, statements posted on their
respective websites showed.
Both men earn over 18 times Russia's average wage of 230,000
roubles per year.
Medvedev has the larger apartment, a 368-square-metre Moscow
residence that dwarves Putin's 77-square-metre flat in Saint
Petersburg, the declarations showed.
But both men spend most of their time in their palatial state
residences.
The declarations did not give a value estimate for the property
holdings.
Average second-hand Moscow apartment prices of over $9,521 per
square metre quoted by the IRN.ru real estate portal would indicate
Medvedev's apartment might sell for more than $3.4 million.
Average second-hand apartments in Saint Petersburg cost about
$4,930 per square metre, IRN.ru said, indicating a 77 square meter
apartment in the city might fetch in the region of $340,046.
Putin also owns a garage, two classic cars, a trailer and a 1,500
square metre plot of land, his declaration said.
He also has share holdings with a nominal value of 230,000
roubles.
Medvedev and his wife have bank deposits worth just under three
million roubles and 4,700 square metres of land.
His wife has two car parking spaces and a Volkswagen Golf.
The declarations were the first under a new anti-corruption law
introduced by Medvedev in December that requires senior officials
to make annual declarations of their family income and
property.
Corruption is a way of life for many Russians at every level of
society - from small bribes paid to traffic policemen or schools to
kickbacks paid to senior officials who hold sway over Russia's vast
natural resources.
Successive Kremlin leaders have tried, unsuccessfully, to stamp it
out.
Opposition figures have ridiculed earlier declarations of Putin's
wealth, suggesting he has vast secret share holdings, a claim he
has denied.
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