The Russian Republic of Adygeya can now boast a ride for tourists down the road to nowhere.

But it's not something that was originally designed to deliver a thrilling experience. What the locals have dubbed the ghost bridge appears to be an illustrative case of misappropriation of funds.

Co-sponsored by the federal and regional budgets, the bridge was supposed to link the home village of the republic's president Aslan Tkhakushinov and the neighbouring Krasnodar Region. Adygeya did its part of the job, but the Krasnodar Region seems to have forgotten to connect it to any major highway on its territory, or maybe simply knew nothing of the construction.

The local prosecutor's office has not yet explained how you can put some 600 million over the water, keeping the fate of the bridge up in the air.

It's not the first time that federal money has been misused - more often it's simply buried under the ground.

In June 2012, the newly built road in the Russian Far East leading from the local airport to the host city of the APEC summit, Vladivostok, was reported to have been damaged by a two day rainfall.

One of the elevated sections got covered with cracks as the stones and ground that supported the structure from beneath were sent by the incoming water crushing down the private garages below.

That one was pretty embarrasing since the world leaders must have nervously shrugged when they visualized what could have happened to them if their cortèges were moving along that road in that kind of weather.

Given the ever-present threat of typhoons in the region, many residents then questioned the durability of any other infrastructure that was so hastily erected in time for the important political summit. The comparison with the Potemkino villages was made relevant again.