People of Coates, Cirencester, UK got an once-in-the-lifetime opportunity to get their village ‘refreshed’. But instead of kneeling down in gratitude they do not seem to be amazed. Villagers do not seem to trust the people behind the offer. The originators of the offer are nearby Bledisloe’s new masters, Darina Kogan and her husband Martin Bellamy. They moved in the Georgian-era mansion a month ago. Perhaps exactly the personal factor, the disrespect locals feel to the newcomers is the key. Daily Mail has an excellent in-depth piece on the occasion.

Darina is daughter of Russian oligarch Valery Kogan, and Martin Bellamy is a property developer. Valery Kogan, a shadowy figure even by Russian standards, is rumoured to be a close confidante of V. Putin himself. It explains the ease he got away he got out of some of the harshest publicity. The scandalous leaked video with some underage boys was circulating – now it is almost everywhere deleted and banned by Russian internet censorship body, Roskomnadzor. The video features a man closely resembling Mr. Valery Kogan. No comments were ever given by Kogan. Instead the video was taken down and no formal investigation was ever conducted. It’s hilarious that the video was taken down ‘to protect the rights of the minors’ involved in this video.

Anyway, it’s not what villagers hate in the development project the couple is trying to push. It’s Kogan’s personal architectural taste. He is known for distasteful and kitschy palaces he built around the world. And honestly, the residents of Coates, Cirencester have every reason to fear the worst. Here is the palace Kogan built in Israel. Please take note: gold is real, marble too. The price tag? It’s more than £200 million.

Photos by Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC: