Russian president Vladimir Putin has splashed out over £100m on two new luxury private jets, despite his country being in economic meltdown.
 
Images of one of the plane leaked online show opulent white leather chairs, gold covered trims, king size beds, hallways, kitchens and conference rooms, not to mention a gym that would put any five-star hotel to shame.
 
The first plane, the IL-96-300 jet, will cost the Russian taxpayers more than £44m.
 
The second, a IL-96-300-PU (M1), will set them back over £61m.

The walls of each plane are decorated with precious paintings and although both planes aren’t finished, they are expected to be delivered by the end of this year.
 
But photos of the interiors leaked onto the internet have caused outrage among Russian citizens.
 
A blogger calling himself Kungurov first published the pictures after getting hold of them from a contact in Russia’s Ministry of Defence.

He fumed: ‘Our self-proclaimed Tsar has decided to give himself a gift on his 15th anniversary of assuming the crown by whipping his slaves into paying for two luxurious IL-96 airliners for him.
 
‘The first, an IL-96-300, will cost us taxpayers 3.75 billion rubles.
 
‘The second, IL-96-300-PU(M1) will cost 5.2 billion."

Russia has been spiralling into debt as it struggles to cope with western-imposed sanctions following the country’s support of rebel-backed separatists in Ukraine, who many suspect are being funded and trained by Russian elite soldiers.