Putin’s bottles snubbed

Photos of many VIP visitors are mapped in the cellars of Cricova Winery in Cricova, Moldova. This famed state-owned has seen many famous visitors over the years, including Vladimir Putin, who celebrated his 50th birthday here; after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Cricova has moved the bottles he was given away from public view. — ©2025 The New York Times Company

HERMANN Goering, Adolf Hitler’s second-in-command, survived the cut. Bottles of wine once owned by him – part of a collection seized by the Soviet army as spoils of World War II and stashed in Moldova’s labyrinthine underground cellars – remain on display.

So, too, do 460 bottles given in 2013 to then-US Secretary of State John Kerry. The collection, valued at US$8,340, resides untouched in a cubbyhole at Cricova Winery. Kerry left the gift behind, likely mindful of its declared worth.