Last week
the ex-prime minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi and Vladimir Putin visited
the Crimea which was annexed by Russia a year ago as part of its confrontation
with Ukraine. The visit could cost especially Berlusconi dear. On one hand, Ukraine has declared him a
persona non grata and prohibited him from visiting the country for three years,
and on the other hand the Fiscal General of the toppled Crimea government has
begun a grand theft prosecution against him and Putin for drinking a bottle of
240 year old Sherry.
During a
visit to the famous Massandra winery which has the largest collection of wines
in the world, many belonging to the Tsars, Putin and his guest tried the Sherry
which had been brought to Crimea by the Count Michael Vorontsov during the
reign of the Russian Empress, Catherine the Great (1762-96). The wine
collection was established in 1894 by Prince Lev Golitsyn and now includes some
500,000 bottles. During the visit Berlusconi picked up a bottle of wine from
1891 and asked if they could drink it, but for some reason the director of the
winery, Yanina Pavlenko, opened the Sherry. The Fiscal General claims the
bottle had a value of €82,000 and is charging Ms Pavlenko with embezzlement, but
it is very unlikely the two politicians will stand trial as Russia owns Crimea.
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