Putin’s close chum has a ball at £1,500 Tory summer party
AS THe latest victims of novichok fight for their lives in Salisbury, i can disclose that a Russian intimate of Vladimir Putin has wormed her way into the heart of the British establishment in extraordinary fashion.
natalia Rotenberg, whose billionaire ex-husband Arkady Rotenberg is the target of U.S. and eU sanctions, this week attended the Tory summer ball, hosted at the Hurlingham Club in London by Theresa May.
The bottle-blonde 37-year-old, who, when in england, divides her time between a £35million residence in Surrey and an £8 million apartment in London, reported on social media: ‘gala dinner with UK government... Theresa May gave her motivation speech in front of 600.’ Rotenberg added: ‘it was very interesting to see how they run it.’
But stimulating though Rotenberg found the evening, one of those attending tells me that they were ‘horrified’ by the Russian’s presence at the £1,500-a-head bash. Rotenberg has lavishly praised Vladimir Putin on social media — ‘our president is the best’ — and is regularly pictured with him. Her relationship with the Russian president developed during her eight-year marriage to one of Putin’s closest friends.
Arkady Rotenberg, 66, apparently met Putin when they were just 12 and 11 respectively. They became judo sparring partners — and great friends.
Years later, Putin put Rotenberg in charge of a state-owned enterprise controlling 30 per cent of Russia’s vodka market. Rotenberg — now worth £2.2billion — and his brother then extended their interests into banking and building gas pipelines. He divorced natalia in 2013. Sanctions prevent Mr Rotenberg from travelling to Britain, the U.S. or the eU.
natalia, by contrast, goes wherever she pleases.