In a building on Pinsker Street is a one-and-a-half-room apartment that Russian president Vladimir Putin bought for his beloved teacher, who immigrated to Israel in the 1970s.
“Russian President Vladimir Putin bought an apartment for his beloved teacher here in the building,” the head of the housing committee of the Pinsker 17 residential building in Tel Aviv confirmed Monday morning.
Mina Yuditskia Berliner taught Putin when he was a teenager in high school in St. Petersburg. In 1973, Berliner immigrated to Israel and used to follow the experiences of the former student, who later became the Prime Minister and President of Russia.
Before one of Putin’s visits to Israel in 2005, Berliner went to the Russian embassy and asked to send a message to the Russian president. She was even invited to an event held in Putin’s presence, who immediately recognized his beloved teacher. Later, a Russian diplomat came to Berliner’s apartment and informed her that President Putin had decided to buy her a one-and-a-half-room apartment on Pinsker Street.
“When I received the apartment, I cried. Putin is a very grateful and decent person,” Berliner said in an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth in 2014. Putin also sent Berliner a watch with a gift that read “From the President,” and an autobiography signed by him. Berliner died in December 2017, aged 96.
In the parking lot of the building, there is still a vehicle with a foreign license plate, confirming that a representative of the Russian embassy was parked there.
When N12 asked one of the tenants of the building if they had noticed anything unusual amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and protests against it, they said, “No, and I hope it stays that way.”
