The official expenses of the Russian head of state in the federal budget are only 2.4 million dollars. However, according to sources in the Kremlin, most of Putin's expenses were funded by wealthy patrons.

Here are some of President Putin’s big ticket expenses from his five years in power according to the Scotsman, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Vedomosti, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Novaya Gazeta, Newsru.ru, newspapers:

$117 million – refurbishment of Putin’s summer retreat, the Konstantinovsky Palace, outside of St Petersburg.

$50 million – for the royal class yacht Olympia, built in the Netherlands. The yacht is 57 meters (180 feet) long, has five rare wood decks, marble walls and a golden fit-out. According to Russian opposition sponsor and exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky, a well-known Russian businessman (and governor at the same time) Roman Abramovich bought this yacht as a gift for Putin.

$10 million – to refit the Presidential Ilyushin Il-96 aircraft; it was decked with silks and tapestries, given a sophisticated high-end sound system, a huge flat-screen television, and a bathroom with gold-plated taps.

$7 million – for the 32 meter (100 feet) long, triple-decked yacht Pallada.

$3 million – for the VIP launch Burevestnik, built by state-owned defense factory.

$2.8 million – for the refitting of the state-owned Kavkaz yacht, a 45 meter (150 feet) vessel built for the General Secretary of the Communist Party Brezhnev; it was refurbished two years ago using different types of cherry and Honduran mahogany wood.

Links:

The Scotsman
SPTimes
Newsru.ru

Contributed by Anton Verstakov (Russian Journalist)