乌克兰前总统私人豪宅探秘

    上周五，乌克兰首都基辅迎来今年第一个温暖的春日。数百位基辅居民不约而同地前往首都最美丽的一处所在，在那里沐浴阳光。这是一座气势恢宏，犹如公园般的庄园，里面不仅有修剪整齐的花园，网球场，保龄球馆，甚至还有一座游艇码头。就在几个星期前，乌克兰人甚至还不知道这个地方的存在。当然，要是他们胆敢闯入高大威严、配有金边的大门，他们马上就会面临被逮捕的风险。现在，这块区域俨然已是乌克兰参观人数最多的景点之一。作为一座活生生的博物馆，它记录的那个世界已经在不经意间荡然无存，留在身后的是一个不确定的未来。

    欢迎光临前总统维克托•亚努科维奇的官邸。

    2月22日，乌克兰前总统维克托•亚努科维奇匆匆逃往俄罗斯数小时后，一群激进分子冲入基辅郊外的Novi Petrivci村。乌克兰的总统官邸多年来一直坐落在流淌过这个村庄的第聂伯河河畔。

    高墙后的发现让他们惊愕万分。那栋旧官邸的气势完全被一栋簇新的五层木面豪宅遮掩住了，这栋豪宅是前总统在2011年左右专门为他和年轻的情妇建造的。彼时的乌克兰债台高筑，正在竭力摆脱全球经济衰退的阴影。

    豪宅外处处是修剪整齐的草坪。精致的小桥旁矗立着一艘全尺寸的海盗船，不远处还有一个温室和一个满是各种珍稀鸟类和鸵鸟的动物园。这块区域非常神秘，直至2月22日，它的上空还是禁飞区。花园里装备了多部安保摄像机，用以确保工作人员没有拍下彰显总统财富的证据——乌克兰新政府声称，这些钱基本上都来自国库。

    但真正令人瞠目结舌的奢华是过去两周来造访这栋豪宅的乌克兰老百姓无缘领略的——亚努科维奇的私人豪宅内部现在已是游客禁地。这栋房屋被上锁了，上个月还在基辅独立广场示威的年轻人站立在门外，用心看护着屋内琳琅满目的无价之宝。

    上周五早上，《财富》记者获准进入这栋私人城堡，好好地窥视了一番乌克兰前领导人令人难以想象的奢华生活。“我想法国的凡尔赛宫顶多也就是这样子吧，”18岁的朱莉娅•米基坚科说。为了保护这栋房屋免遭掠夺，这位学语言的女生目前跟其他几位激进分子住在屋内——他们睡在古色古香的雕花床上，用纯金打造的浴室设备洗澡。她一边引领我穿过大理石走廊，登上精雕细刻的楼梯，一边说：“我们很多人认为应该保留这里的一切，把它作为一个贪腐博物馆。”

    这栋房屋完全配得上博物馆的称谓。一个庞大的水晶吊灯（众多水晶吊灯之一）悬挂在一个飞机库般大小的客厅之上。客厅中一处可俯瞰花园的位置摆放着一架白色的斯坦韦牌卧式钢琴。在屋内堆积如山的文件中，活动人士发现了数枚银质匕首和一把镶有5.1克拉白色钻石、纯金打造的.38口径史密斯韦森手枪的防伪证明书。走进一个大型酒吧，映入眼帘的是各种法国美酒，令人应接不暇。这栋豪宅的3D影院配有环绕音效系统和按摩椅，还收藏了一些好莱坞大片的DVD影碟，其中包括《肖申克的救赎》(Shawshank Redemption)和《爱丽丝漫游奇遇记》(Alice in Wonderland)。

    On the first warm Spring day in Ukraine on Friday, hundreds of Kiev residents headed to the capital's loveliest spot to soak up the sun: A sprawling park-like estate, with manicured gardens, and a tennis court, bowling alley, and yachting marina. Until a few weeks ago, Ukrainians did not even know this place existed. Certainly, they would have faced immediate arrest had they dared venture through the tall, gold-trimmed gates. Now, the area is one of Ukraine's most visited sites, a living museum to a world that has suddenly, unexpectedly vanished, leaving an uncertain future in its place.

    Welcome to the home of ousted president Viktor Yanukovych.

    Hours after former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych fled for his life to Russia on February 22, activists raced to the village of Novi Petrivci, outside Kiev, where Ukraine's presidential residence has for years sat on the banks of the Dnipro River.

    What they found behind the high walls astonished them. The old official residence was dwarfed by a new, five-story, wood-sided mansion, which the president had commissioned for himself and his young mistress around 2011, at a time when Ukraine was deep in debt, and trying to dig itself out from the global recession.

    Outside, the manicured grounds contain graceful bridges, a full-sized pirate ship, a greenhouse, and a zoo filled with rare birds and ostriches. So secret was the area that the airspace above was closed to planes until February 22. Security cameras embedded in the gardens helped to ensure that no staff member snapped evidence of the president's wealth -- money that was largely siphoned off from public coffers, according to Ukraine's new government.

    But the truly jaw-dropping opulence is off-limits to regular Ukrainians, who have descended on the estate during the past two weeks: Inside Yanukovych's private mansion. Filled with priceless objects, the house is locked, and young activists—who until last month were demonstrating on Kiev's Independence Square -- stand guard outside.

    On Friday morning, Fortune was treated to an in-depth tour of the private quarters, offering a window into the incalculable luxury Ukraine's leader enjoyed. "France has the Versailles castle, and I would like this to be like that," says Julia Mykytenko, 18, a language student who is one of the activists currently living in the house -- sleeping in the antique carved beds and showering with solid-gold bathroom fittings -- in order to safeguard it from looters. As she guided me through the marble hallways and up a series of intricately carved staircases, she said, "Many of us think this should remain as a museum of corruption."

    As a museum, the house is hard to beat. A vast crystal chandelier (one of many) hangs over a hangar-sized living room, where a white Steinway baby grand overlooks overlooking the gardens. Amid the mountain of documents uncovered in the house were certificates of authenticity for silver daggers and a solid-gold Smith & Wesson .38-cal. handgun, encrusted with 5.1-carat white diamonds. A large bar is stocked with fine French wines. And the mansion's 3-D cinema has Surround-sound, massage chairs, and a small collection of Hollywood hits on DVD, including Shawshank Redemption and Alice in Wonderland.