---
title: "New investigation: where Viktor Yanukovych is hiding and how his common-law wife lives"
description: "A new investigation has revealed Viktor Yanukovych's residence in Sochi and his pseudonym. His common-law wife owns vast property in Russia. The former president was sentenced to 15 years in absentia. 🏰🕵️‍♂️"
date: 2026-07-26T12:08:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/new-investigation-where-viktor-yanukovych-is-hiding-and-how-his-common-law-wife-lives
tags: [yanukovich, sochi, ukraine, russia, investigation]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# New investigation: where Viktor Yanukovych is hiding and how his common-law wife lives

![Viktor Yanukovych in a formal suit, new insights into his life in exile](https://xab.info/media/2026/07/26/novoe-rassledovanie-gde-skryvaetsya-viktor-yanukovich-i-kak-zhivet-ego-grazhdanskaya-zhena/novoe-rassledovanie-gde-skryvaetsya-viktor-yanukovich-i-kak-zhivet-ego-grazhdanskaya-zhena-1.webp)

Journalists from "Toronto Television" have presented a new investigation into the life of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych after his flight to Russia. The material, published by RBC-Ukraine, reveals details about the possible residence of the former head of state and his entourage.

### Hidden identity and new surname

According to journalists, Yanukovych may be living in Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, with his common-law wife, Lyubov Polezhay. The investigation claims that he uses the pseudonym Oleg Leonov. A person with these details traveled with Polezhay, who uses her maiden name, Sadykova, after moving to Russia.

The date of birth of "Oleg Nikolaevich Leonov" — July 9, 1950 — completely matches Yanukovych's date of birth. The surname Leonov is his mother's maiden name.

### "Blagodat" closed complex

According to investigators, Yanukovych lives with his common-law wife and her daughter, Maria, in the closed "Blagodat" complex at 15 Esaulenko Street. The three-hectare territory includes several houses, a garden, a pond, and a private chapel.

Security at the complex is provided by former employees of the State Protection Service of Ukraine, who fled to Russia with Yanukovych after the events of 2014. Journalists call this estate the former president's new "Mezhyhirya".

### Lyubov Polezhay's property

According to journalists, during her time in Russia, Lyubov Polezhay became the owner of hundreds of hectares of land leased out, as well as five apartments, five houses, and four other real estate objects with a total area of about 2,400 square meters.

As the authors of the investigation say, she earned more than 60 million rubles just from renting out land and real estate.

### Court proceedings and verdict

Viktor Yanukovych fled Ukraine in February 2014 and has been in Russia ever since. In December 2025, the verdict against the former president came into force — the Kyiv Court of Appeal left unchanged the decision to sentence him to 15 years in prison for organizing the illegal smuggling of persons across the state border and inciting desertion.