Girls in Courchevel. How Mikhail Prokhorov had fun with his “concubines” in Courchevel (Photo)

Who squandered money and how during the “Russian week” at the famous French resort (photo, video)

For Russian rich Courchevel is like Ibiza for ravers: its own religion, its own cult was once born here. The glory of this place attracts followers, newcomers, the curious... People walk around the places of once-defunct scandalous parties as if they were walking through a museum of Russian oligarchic glory. KP correspondents came to an alpine village to see what was left of the former splendor and wealth of the Russian elite's vacations, and discovered a new Russian elite.

OLIGARCHIC MIRAGE

Muscovites who flew to Courchevel managed to create a 1.5 hour traffic jam at the airport at customs. The employees then explained that passengers with children (and there were the majority of them on board) were checked especially carefully. Too much in lately family and divorce scandals with Russians, when rich parents, having run away, cannot divide their children and take them away without asking.

...Just 20 km from Courchevel there is peace, quiet, inexpensive family hotels, reasonable prices and practically no Russians. But a taxi to Courchevel will cost inadequately - 100 euros for a 15-minute ride. During the “Russian week” all prices at an altitude of 1850 meters (the favorite height of Russians) are multiplied by two.

The higher you go in the mountains, the more snow, Russian speech, the richer the chalets and the crazier the mood. In the fabulous scenery of an alpine village, behind every Christmas tree you can meet anyone: pop stars, oligarchs, artists and TV presenters.

— Our driver is phenomenally similar to one of our famous millionaires! — Komsomolskaya Pravda photographer Zhenya Guseva is amazed.

The driver, a cheerful electrician named Gautier, unaware of nature's joke, was turning the steering wheel of his old van; out of the kindness of his heart, he gave us a lift for free - in the name of Russian-French friendship.

The ghosts of the oligarchs were everywhere and increasingly materialized. Here at the fashionable cafe “Tramplin” in the center of the town, Alexey, the son of an oil billionaire and one of the most eligible bachelors in Russia, has been coming to Courchevel since childhood. The family of billionaire Sarkisov is also here.

“And Deripaska was there, and, of course, Potanin celebrated his birthday,” one of the organizers of Alpine parties told us.

But last year, Vladimir Olegovich ignored his native resort, promising to organize Courchevel in Krasnaya Polyana.

Mikhail Prokhorov, who is also a presidential candidate, according to rumors, also came for a couple of days to ski... For the village of millionaires, Prokhorov is a man of the era. True, gone. And yet, the title of King of Courchevel remained with him - there is no one to take it yet...

On New Year Alena Apina and Anastasia Stotskaya were also spotted here.

A NEW ELITE IS RISING

Courchevel has finally become Russified: “Vladimir Central” and “A glass of vodka on the table” thunder from “Mercedes” and “Bentleys” with region license plates 197 (Moscow). Owners of shops and restaurants are required to hire at least one Russian speaker.

There are more and more of us (at least some part of the nation is growing in prosperity).

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“Many people began to come from the provinces and the CIS, for example, this year one agricultural magnate from Siberia wasted a lot of money, many rich people from Ukraine and Kazakhstan,” said a Russian guy who works in one of the Courchevel restaurants. — They are, of course, peculiar, to put it mildly. Recently they demanded that all the dishes on the menu be prepared at once, one serving at a time, and put on the table so that everyone could try. How could I explain to them that this is impossible, that our restaurant has two Michelin stars! That these dishes are works of art that cost as much as they do, and that they cannot be made into a buffet, like in a hotel in Turkey!

But our quirks are nothing new in Courchevel. And yet, where did these conversations about imminent death village of Courshevelino, if so much solvent blood is coming in?

It turned out that there is a stratification of society here. We made it...

The “New Russian debutants” who have arrived in large numbers extremely irritate the “New Russian veterans”: who are these people, what have they forgotten here? - asks the old crowd and urgently packs their bags. 10 years ago they ousted foreigners from here, now they are being ousted by their own people.

“This is a new, emerging Russian elite, they suddenly got rich, they don’t know how to behave yet, but they really want to enter high society,” a businessman friend philosophized. — The old elite made money from privatization, the new elite made money from kickbacks. In addition, somewhere in 2003-2004, the outflow of businesses from Russia began. Many of those with whom I started traveling here have already left the country with their businesses and families.

- Including you...

- Yes, including. New people took our places. Several years will pass, and, I hope, some of them will learn to use all the cutlery, learn the language, and at the same time, good manners. Normal historical process.

- So who are these people?

— Yes, former “heads of housing departments”, new oil and gas workers, workers of companies affiliated with government agencies. And they think that if they go to Courchevel and leave ten thousand euros at the Le Cav club, where Prokhorov was arrested, they will immediately get into society. I don’t know about anyone, but I’m unlikely to come here again.

“SOBOLEY IS LIKE RATS IN A TRASH TRASH”

Just a little more, and my friend and I would have written a dissertation on the topic “Tectonic processes of the emerging Russian elite of the 2000s.” But it was necessary to move from theory to practice: it was time to get acquainted with the new elite...

The Croisette (the main square of Courchevel) sparkled with rhinestones and shone with furs - full-lipped Russian ladies took to the promenade. The brought wardrobe is replenished daily in local boutiques. The Chanel brand store was opened with generous Russians in mind. And ours did not let us down - by the end of the “Russian week” the mannequins in the stores stood almost naked.

Chinchillas, sables, arctic foxes, minks, sometimes all together - the parade of fur coats has turned into a demonstration of bad taste. It would be necessary to blindfold the Coco Chanel statues (there are four of them installed at the boutique) so that the trendsetter does not see this shame of haute couture.

Nika Belotserkovskaya, socialite and the writer described this picture in her blog: “...everyone is in Chanel-Hermes, sable, like rats in a port garbage dump. And I firmly decided that this was my last time here. Something started to make me feel nauseous. Of course, I’m a little ashamed of my intolerance, but... if what used to make me smile, now..."

Don’t think that there were absolutely no elegant beauties in Courchevel, this is not true. The bad taste was just more noticeable.

FIND A GROOM OR MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

- But this one came here? Looking for a man too? — one girl whispered to another in the store, pointing her silicone nail in my direction.

“But she’s not one of us, she’s a foreigner, she probably skis.” And she’s already a little old... About 30 years old, I suppose,” the second one said out loud, without fear of being understood.

“Yes, and we already have a year or two left...” the friend responded doomedly.

This most amusing scene reminded me of another aspect of Courchevel life - the search for a rich husband.

For many years, girls from Russia, Ukraine and other Russian-speaking countries flocked to the Alpine valleys in the hope of snagging themselves a millionaire. Once upon a time, “Cinderellas” were brought here in an organized manner by the main escort agent Peter Listerman. I met him by chance at one of the parties.

- Well, Peter, did you bring marriageable beauties this time?

- To whom? For what? - Listerman exclaimed sadly. - Do you see the crowd? 90 percent come with their wives.

Yes, but the old-timers of Courchevel remember how many of them were brought here as mistresses. Now they legal spouses, mothers of children, victims of not the highest quality plastic surgery... And they come here with nannies, mothers, and strollers with rhinestones. Yes, damn it, Courchevel is no longer best place adultery...

“We need to look for a new Courchevel,” Listerman got excited about the idea. “I found this place, I’ll find another one too.”

Although the memory of past debauchery still attracts naive girls here, ready to huddle in the cheapest hotel with their last money, but go hunting every day, hoping to ring some millionaire...

In Courchevel, everything is raised to a degree: bank accounts, rudeness, revelry, and prices for luxury goods.

While women choose fur coats for 100 thousand euros, men can also amuse themselves. For example, skis from the famous Lacroix brand, which has a store in the village. The expression “stands like a cast iron bridge” for this sports equipment is clearly too small. Designer skis self made, encrusted with diamonds, cost from 50 thousand to 500 thousand euros (the cost of an excellent chalet is right there). On a black background (this is what is fashionable this season) they will write, draw, lay out anything they want with diamonds of any size. One St. Petersburg businessman, for example, asked to write his wife’s name and decorate it with a large stone.

The main buyers in this store of surprisingly expensive equipment are Russians. They say that the head of the representative office of the International Chess Federation in Russia, businessman David Kaplan, ordered three pairs of skis for himself. But no one in the store could confirm or deny this to us.

SOBCHAK AND KILKI

One of noisy parties took place at the Manzhur restaurant, where high-ranking people used to appear Russian officials, and this time the star of the evening was Ksenia Sobchak. She recorded this event on her Twitter (spelling preserved - Ed.):

“Manjoire for Christmas:) ...Now officials are trying not to go to Courchevel. And thank God :).”

Ksenia generally preferred closed events and house parties. At one of them, guests happily devoured sprat from a jar. Ksenia in her blog compared these canned goods with the political situation in the country: few sprats, many forks.

Nika Belotserkovskaya hosted a traditional borscht party, preparing 50 liters of borscht with her own hands. Obviously, she couldn’t get by with just one saucepan...

The rich were content with simpler things folk festivals on the Croisette. Gone are the days when oligarchs built an icy Kremlin three meters high here. This year, too, we could not do without the Kremlin (they are bored in a foreign land, probably without pictures that are dear to their hearts), but the decorations turned out to be plywood. And a French choir performed on stage. The artists dressed up in kokoshniks and sang “Marfusha” and “Valenki”.

“It’s great, at least we’ll listen to songs—they haven’t sung anything like that in Russia for a long time,” admired the lady in a fur coat, singing along, “Oh, but the old ones aren’t hemmed.”

I didn’t object to her, saying that she, most likely, had not been to that Russia for a long time, with “holey felt boots” and rollicking songs. For what? Some misanthropy and tolerance coexist in me in a surprising way. Let everyone rest as they wish, and I’ll go look at the mountains and stars.

P.S.“Russian Week” in Courchevel is over. Prices in the village have dropped, and French speech is heard more clearly here again. New and old heroes of the “Russian elite” are returning to the country. And the country, which, in fact, did not notice their absence, can only hope that the historical process of growing up and educating the elite will not drag on for decades. And these same " best people“They won’t leave the country at the first opportunity - to make room for the next “new Russians”...

The Lyon court refused to consider the complaint of Russian women detained in January 2007 in Courchevel along with Mikhail Prokhorov. The girls demanded that their detention be declared illegal and compensation for damages. French authorities insist: police operation in Courchevel passed within the framework of the law. Prokhorov himself still cannot get the prostitution case dismissed, in which he is the main defendant.

On Wednesday, a Lyon court denied three Russian women detained in January 2007 at the Courchevel ski resort in the French Alps a review of the case on the legality of their arrest.

The girls arrived in Courchevel to spend the New Year holidays there in the company of businessman Mikhail Prokhorov and his friends. But on January 9, 2007, Prokhorov and 25 other persons, among whom were Russian entrepreneurs and seven women accompanying them were detained as part of the investigation into a criminal case of “organized prostitution.” Some suspects were released immediately, others spent more than two days in pre-trial detention. The French authorities never brought any charges against anyone.

Later, three Russian women, certain Anastasia F., Marina G. and Irina S., filed complaints about “illegal deprivation of liberty” in a French court. However, on Wednesday, the Lyon court refused to allow the Russian women's lawyer to re-examine the police officers who carried out the arrest. Currently, the investigation into the girls' complaints has been completed, and the Lyon prosecutor's office intends to close the case. As the lawyer for the three Russian women who wanted to “defend their honor,” Ssoren Margulis, told the French press, the prosecutor’s office said that “the detentions were legal and, therefore, there is no need to look for who gave the order for the detention.”

According to Margulis, the refusal to re-interrogate “demonstrates an unwillingness to investigate this case properly.” However, the lawyer is not going to stop and intends to file appeal to the court of the city of Chambery. According to Margulis, his clients were offended by the actions of the French police. The girls were returned the things taken from them during the arrest: jewelry, furs and money, but were not compensated for the damage caused for what they considered to be an illegal arrest.

The fact is that, according to Margulis, the authorities who were allegedly investigating the case of an international prostitution network, in fact, during interrogations did not ask the detainees a single question regarding their membership in this network. Moreover, according to the defender of Russian women, it is generally strange to suspect girls of being involved in prostitution. The lawyer is sure: the non-involvement of Prokhorov’s girlfriends in the services of elite prostitutes is evidenced by their “sufficiently high social status": one has a diploma in biology, another in law, and the third studied to become a hotel manager a year ago.

The stay of Russian women at the resort consisted only of attending various entertainment events and nothing more, RIA Novosti cites Margulis’ statements.

The lawsuit of Mikhail Prokhorov, who demanded that the case in which he is a defendant be closed, is still in the Lyon court to this day. The businessman also continues to wait for an official apology from representatives of the French police.

A decision on the claim has not been made, and Prokhorov retains the status of an assistant witness, who, according to French law, is intermediate between the witness and the suspect. [...]

Grigory Tumanov

The Courchevel scandal is a favorite topic of Mikhail Prokhorov’s political opponents: at every opportunity Russian oligarch they recall how in January 2007 he was found in the company of 15 underage courtesans. However, Prokhorov himself prefers not to talk about the details of that incident. Novolitika managed to find one of the billionaire’s companions and find out unknown details of the Courchevel scandal.

- Hello, Nastya. How did you meet Prokhorov?

Mikhail Prokhorov and I have known each other for a long time. I came to Moscow to enroll at Moscow State University from a small town where my parents remained - as intelligent people as they were poor. It was the early 2000s.

I won’t bore you with my story about how Moscow completely broke my heart with its brightness, rhythm, abundance of opportunities and keen desire to get everything, if not immediately, then at least gradually. How I began to win my “place in the sun.” It seemed that I had lived half asleep for 17 years, and suddenly woke up.

Then we met Prokhorov. I didn’t even know who this tall, intelligent man was. He behaved completely calmly and naturally, speaking quietly. Just as quietly, he invited me to accompany him on a trip to Courchevel. Back then there was almost no talk about this resort. Mikhail offered to cover the costs entirely and pay me for the company, and I was given a separate room.

- And you, of course, agreed?

At first I tensed up, rushed about, almost like a true Turgenev girl. Then I thought - I don’t have a permanent boyfriend, so why go home for the holidays? Here came the opportunity to relax in pleasant company, and even earn money. There were no arguments against it. It is clear that in the middle of a European city they will definitely not rape and beat me.

In Courchevel, everything turned out to be very interesting. Already on the way to vacation, I met several more girls whom Mikhail invited to vacation with him. Some, like me, were traveling for the first time, others had already accompanied the oligarch on more than one occasion. ski resort. There were 13 of us in total, all beautiful, slender and with long hair.

We were accommodated in the luxurious Byblos Hotel. In the evening we had a joint dinner in honor of our arrival, we drank Petrus, danced and enjoyed life. When I found out that Petrus costs about 6 thousand euros per bottle, I almost fainted. My mother doesn’t earn that much in a year.

- What happened after dinner?

After dinner, Mikhail called me and another girl, Alena, to his room. I tensed up, I immediately thought - he seemed normal, but turned out to be a pervert. I was ready to pack my suitcase and look for the nearest Russian embassy.

But events developed in a completely unpredictable way. We came to the room, he closed the door behind us and suggested we lie down. At the same time, he himself did not undress, and he did not hint at anything like that to us. Alena was not afraid, and I thought that nothing bad should happen to me. When we lay down on his huge bed, Mikhail took Turgenev’s “The Thunderstorm” (two copies) from under the pillow and asked us to read it aloud by role.

We read. Mikhail listened. And I, watching Katerina’s torment, kept wondering what the oligarch was up to, since he decided to divert our attention in this way?

- So what?

It turned out that nothing. Mikhail simply fell asleep without making an indecent proposal to any of us. During the day we skied, in the evening the situation repeated itself. Five girls were already invited for the “role-playing” reading.

So every evening we read him something from Russian classics. And no intimacy at all. At the same time, you should not think that Mikhail is homosexual or impotent. He loves women very much, but with some special love. A company of beautiful, educated girls helps the oligarch take his mind off work. It was for the soul. And for the rest he found other women.

- What happened that evening when the police burst into the room?

That evening, when we were detained by the French police, there was also only joint reading. There can be no talk of any prostitution. We played the role of companions, not concubines or sex slaves. Yes, Mikhail could hug us and even kiss us on the cheek - but no more liberties.

In general, speculation about his penchant for orgies and bacchanalia is just speculation. Although for most men, such a billionaire’s vacation seems much stranger than the love of gangbangs and other sexual excesses.

Prokhorov's chalet, worth more than 100 million euros, located in one of the most prestigious places in Courchevel, is bustling with life every evening. During the day, the oligarch rushes like a whirlwind along the local slopes, after which he prefers a different, but no less active form of recreation. After eight in the evening, minibuses arrive in columns at the billionaire’s house, from which the beautiful guests of the 48-year-old politician flutter out one after another.

The living room in a businessman's chalet can easily be confused with an expensive restaurant - elite wines flow here like a river, well-trained servants delicately set the table, and girls sit at it in skimpy evening dresses.

The owner of the house at this celebration of life looks like a king - he prefers to sit at the head of the table, and the attention of the “concubines” is constantly drawn only to him. The businessman occasionally walks around his property, presenting elegant girls with unambiguous signs of attention: the oligarch hugs someone and gently strokes his face with his palm, while others receive more intimate touches.

Fortunately for Mikhail, none of the beauties are against it. Guests patiently wait for their turn and look with a contemptuous smile towards their potential rivals, and, as a rule, there are many of them in the house. Some of the girls, apparently not the first time visiting the oligarch, dine in sportswear, just like Prokhorov himself. But there are also those who wander around the house with evening makeup and hairstyles, as well as high heels.

The billionaire's friend Leonid Yarmolnik does not share the politician's hobbies: the actor prefers male company and spends the evening talking with friends.

The party dragged on until late at night - those present began to disperse from the table only at three o'clock. Only those girls who remained without signs of attention from the politician continued the feast until the morning.

Mikhail Prokhorov brought several dozen girls from Russia to his house in Courchevel worth $100 million and “rocked” them with Leonid Yarmolnik (photo, video)

Prokhorov's chalet, worth more than 100 million euros, located in one of the most prestigious places in Courchevel, was bustling with life every evening. During the day, the oligarch rushed like a whirlwind along the local slopes, after which he preferred a different, but no less active form of recreation. After eight in the evening, minibuses arrived in columns at the billionaire’s house, from which the beautiful guests of the 48-year-old politician fluttered out one after another.

The living room in a businessman’s chalet can easily be confused with an expensive restaurant - elite wines flowed like a river here, well-trained servants delicately set the table, and the girls sat behind it in skimpy evening dresses.

The owner of the house at this celebration of life looked like a king - he preferred to sit at the head of the table, and the attention of the “concubines” was tirelessly drawn only to him. The businessman occasionally walked around his property, giving elegant girls unambiguous signs of attention: the oligarch hugged someone and gently stroked his face with his palm, while others received more intimate touches.

Fortunately for Mikhail, none of the beauties were against it. The guests patiently waited for their turn and looked with a contemptuous smile towards their potential rivals, and, as a rule, there were many of them in the house. Some of the girls, apparently not the first time visiting the oligarch, dined in sportswear, like Prokhorov himself. But there were also those who walked around the house with evening makeup and hairstyles, as well as in high heels.

The billionaire's friend Leonid Yarmolnik did not share the politician's hobbies: the actor preferred male company and spends the evening talking with friends.

The party dragged on until late at night - those present began to disperse from the table only at three o'clock. Only those girls who remained without signs of attention from the politician continued the feast until the morning.

"Heat.ru" , 01/10/2014., " New Year's holiday Mikhail Prokhorov in Courchevel"

Mikhail Prokhorov can rightfully be called the most devoted fan of Courchevel. At the beginning of January, the politician and businessman again went to the snow-covered slopes of the French Alps. As usual, he took with him fun company- a string of young girls.

In the favorite restaurant Tremplin, located in the heart of Courchevel, on a slope with an elevation of 1850 meters, you will no longer meet Prokhorov - now the oligarch is conquering new heights. A private salon with a huge terrace, located in the highlands, attracts a politician much more than the crowded Croisette street.

As soon as the 48-year-old oligarch appeared on the horizon, all the attention of the onlookers around the entrance focused on his tall figure. Everyone knows Prokhorov there: from the waiters to the owner of the establishment, restaurateur Eric Tournier, who met the Russian guest in person.

For two and a half hours the girls danced to the most popular Russian songs. By order of Prokhorov, the hit of the Freestyle group “Oh, what a woman” was performed that evening. It is unknown which of the many beauties the composition was addressed to; it seems that they were all at once - the businessman was dancing in a dense ring of flirtatious fans.