At least 20 million rubles ($262,000) was spent on Russian Patriarch Kirill's recent 11-day tour of Latin America, the RBC news website reported Wednesday.
According to RBC's estimates, the kerosene alone for the Il-96-300 airliner that transports top Russian officials, and that carried the Patriarch to Latin America, cost about 8.4 million rubles ($110,000).
Another 12.5 million rubles ($163,000) was spent leasing the 30-seater airplane that took Patriarch Kirill from Chile to Antarctica.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church's official visit to Latin America ended on Monday. During the tour, Patriarch Kirill visited Cuba, where his historical meeting with Pope Francis took place, as well as Chile, Paraguay, Brazil and Antarctica.
During the trip, the Patriarch was accompanied by 100 people, RBC reported, citing two unidentified sources in the Russian Orthodox Church.
