The apts in the city center are renting for $750-$4000 a month depending on age, remont and facilities (parking, security etc are expensive). You can rent apts for much more than $4000 if you want a building with a health spa or other luxury services.
Bollocks. You can rent an apartment starting from $150 a month - you have to speak fluent Russian though (or at least show the landlord you're really trying to).

As for dachas, anything that looks like a big house in America is for the rich.
For the rich is what looks like a sodding Castle Anthrax, what looks like a "big house in America" is for Uncle Vanya and his horti-f..ing-cultural pervertions.

Currently they pay little or no taxes on these but the government is talking about starting to tax them which will be very expensive.
Oh yeah? Little or no taxes? What the hell do you know? Stick to inventing and dishing out trivia about your own country. Your clumsy attempts at spinning yarns about Russia are exactly what they are - clumsy attempts. I'm not a billionaire but I own an apartment in St Pete and pay a lot of tax.

Also there has been a story on the Moscow news about the rich building dachas in ecologically sensitve or protected areas. It seems all they had to do was give government agencies and inspectors a few "gifts" and their private communities on the lake shore were OK'd.
Seems. Seems to you or the muckrakers at that despicable rag? Look, how about we give some "government agencies" a "gift" or two to help you overcome your compulsion to shamelessly lie about my country?