#international solidarity
Russian Oligarchs addresses in London.
Hanover Lodge, Regent’s Park:
Overlooking Regent’s Park and designed by famous architect John Nash, Hanover Lodge, was sold to Russian billionaire Andrey Goncharenko in 2012 for £120 million. Goncharenko is the chief executive officer Gazprom Invest Yug, a subsidiary of the Russian state energy company Gazprom which builds gas pipelines.
But it’s far from his only home in the capital.
102 Eaton Square, Belgravia:
As if having a historical mansion in Regent’s Park wasn’t enough, Goncharenko also bought 102 Eaton Square in Belgravia. It was reported that he wanted to add a swimming pool and leisure centre as part of an expensive refurbishment.
However, in 2017 anarchist squatters got into the five-storey Grade ll-listed property through an open window and set up a homeless shelter. The Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians (ANAL) lasted over a week before being evicted by bailiffs.
Beechwood House, Highgate:
Nestled in the wealthy North London enclave of Highgate is the Beechwood House mansion owned by Alisher Usmanov. A former executive of another Gazprom subsidiary, Gazprom Investholding, which he led for well over a decade, Usmanov is known for holding a 30 per cent stake in Arsenal Football Club for many years.
Shortly after purchasing Beechwood House, he angered neighbours by launching plans to build a basement extension at the £48 million property with a ‘Roman Baths’ style swimming pool.
Witanhurst, in Highgate:
Belongs to Andrey Guryev, Intrigue about the ownership of the 11-acre Witanhurst estate in Highgate is so intense that it was once labelled ‘London’s most mysterious mansion’ by The New Yorker . The article’s author Ed Caesar ultimately determined that it belonged to Andrey Guryev, former head of PhosAgro, one of the largest producers of fertilizers in the world. Although a spokesperson for the billionaire described him not as the “legal owner” of Witanhurst, but a beneficiary of the company that owns the house.
The property is the largest home in London other than Buckingham Palace and was used in the 2000s for the BBC talent show Fame Academy.
Athlone House, Highgate:
Another giant home located amidst the rolling hills of North London is Athlone House. It was purchased for £65 million in 2016 by Mikhail Fridman, a Ukranian-born international businessman and industrialist. Bought in a derelict state Fridman has spent the years since he bought the home restoring it.
A walk across Hampstead Heath will bring you to the primary residence of Andrey Yakunin the son of the former Russian railways president and old friend on Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Yakunin. Andrey became a British citizen in the mid-2010s.
Firmly embedded in North London life, his son Igor attended the local private school; Highgate School.
Acacia Road, St John’s Wood:
In 2016, the Sunday Times revealed that Andrey Yakunin possessed another property in North London; a £35m mansion in St John’s Wood. Details of the 8-bedroom house’s ownership were discovered after the Land Registry office published a list of 40,000 offshore companies that own nearly 100,000 UK properties.
