Nothing is improvised in Vladimir Putin’s life.
Every step of the Russian president is closely watched by hundreds of bodyguards who accompany him 24 hours a day.
His food is prepared in secret and everything he drinks must be pre-checked by his closest advisors.
A former officer in the KGB, the security service of the Soviet Union, Putin knows all too well the threats that exist around him, especially in times of war.
The president is leading the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and that poses some additional risks to his security.
But who is really in charge of protecting him? And what are some of the measures that are taken to keep you safe? BBC News Mundo, the BBC’s Spanish service, gathered some points on the subject.
Extensive security team
Among the various security services currently operating in Russia, there is one especially dedicated to protecting the president and his family: the Russian Presidential Security Service.
This squad reports to Russia’s Federal Protective Service (FSO), which has its origins in the former KGB, and which also protects other high-ranking government officials, including the country’s prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin.
It is from this body that the men dressed in black with headphones that protect the president 24 hours a day come from.
According to Russia Beyond, a state agency, when these agents accompany Putin on overseas activities, they organize into four circles.
The closest circle is made up of the president’s personal bodyguards.
The second is made up of undercover guards, who go unnoticed in public. The third circles the perimeter of the crowd, preventing suspicious people from entering.
And the fourth and final circle is formed by snipers located on the roofs of neighboring buildings.
These agents also accompany Putin as he moves from place to place.
“Putin doesn’t like helicopters, he usually travels with a huge motorcade, with motorcyclists, lots of big black cars, trucks etc. Any drone that might be in the airspace is blocked and traffic is stopped,” says security expert Mark Galeotti. and director of Mayak Intelligence, a consultancy dedicated to analyzing security issues in the country.
The Russian Presidential Security Service is supported by the “Russian National Guard”, or Rosgwardia, which was formed by Putin himself six years ago. Some have described the body as a sort of “personal army” for the president.
This group is independent of the Armed Forces, and although its official mission is to protect borders, fight terrorism and protect public order, among other tasks, in practice one of its main objectives is to protect Putin from potential threats.
“Everyone knows that they are largely Putin’s personal bodyguards,” says Stephen Hall, an expert on Russian politics at the University of Bath in the UK.
“And the president is very protected by them and the rest of the security services,” he adds.
Currently, the head of the National Guard is Viktor Zolotov, a former bodyguard of Putin. Zolotov is a loyal ally of the president and in recent years the number of soldiers who are part of this security force has increased by around 400,000.
“It’s a huge number, security units for presidents like the United States don’t even come close to that contingent,” says Hall.
protective measures
While it is difficult to know how far the measures aimed at protecting Putin go, the Kremlin itself and security experts have shed some light on the matter. One of the most carefully treated issues is food.
According to Mark Galeotti, Putin has a “personal taster” that checks everything the president is going to eat. The objective is to prevent possible poisoning.
“It’s part of a style closer to that of a medieval monarch than a modern president,” Galeotti tells BBC News Mundo.
Also, when Putin travels outside of Russia, the president’s staff takes care of everything he consumes.
“They take all the food and drink that he will consume. So, for example, if there is an official toast with champagne, he takes it from the bottle that his team brings, not the one served at the event”, explains Galeotti.
Stephen Hall, meanwhile, says his bodyguards carefully watch how the food is produced to avoid any risk.
smart phones
Another measure that seeks to protect Putin is the blocking of smartphones inside the Kremlin.
The president himself confirmed that he does not use these devices. In 2020, in an interview with state news agency TASS, he admitted this, also pointing out that if he wanted to talk to someone, there was an official line to do so.
His advisers also conceded this strategy. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov has repeatedly said that Putin does not use cell phones because he “does not have much time”.
Among the reasons behind the reluctance is Putin’s deep distrust of the internet.
In the past, by the way, he has claimed that the internet is a “project of the CIA” – the US intelligence agency – and has asked Russians not to do Google searches because he believes that the Americans are monitoring all information.
“Putin hardly uses the internet, it’s known that he doesn’t like phones. And well, let’s be honest, from a security point of view, Putin is absolutely right. Smartphones aren’t very safe,” says Galeotti.
Given this, the academic says that Putin receives paper files and reports from his advisers.
“He starts the day with three security reports. One is what is happening in the world, one is what is happening in Russia and the third is what is happening within the country’s elite,” he says.
“For him, this is the most important information that will define his day.”
“I remember talking to diplomats and foreign ministry officials who told me they were frustrated because if they have information that conflicts with their intelligence services, Putin will tend to assume that his spies are right and the diplomats are wrong. “, he adds.
Isolation and pandemic
Currently, access to Vladimir Putin is extremely limited. The few leaders who meet with him, like Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in February, are expected to remain several meters away. The meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron drew attention for an image that showed the Frenchman sitting on the opposite side of a long table.
Some of these measures are a legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic, which ended up isolating Putin even further.
According to the BBC’s Russian service, among the measures that were implemented during this period are: a mandatory two-week quarantine for anyone who wants to attend meetings with the president; strict medical control regime, which includes periodic PCR tests, for everyone around Putin; and the almost total reduction in participation in public events.
On March 15, Russian government press secretary Dmitry Peskov confirmed that all anti-covid measures related to Putin’s security remain intact until “experts deem it appropriate”.
In Russia, Putin’s personal health is seen as a matter of national security.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, US General James Clapper – who oversaw the CIA, FBI, NSA and served as a top adviser to former President Barack Obama – confirmed that Putin is physically isolated.
“Putin has been largely isolated, especially in the last two years with the pandemic. Few people really have access to him, which makes it very difficult to gather information about him,” says Clapper.
Galeotti agrees: “Putin lives very isolated. The circle of people around him has shrunk dramatically,” he says.
“He no longer travels around the country and his appearance at public events is quite rare. Security guards are among the few people Putin has a personal relationship with,” he says.
According to Galeotti, this partly explains why many of these personal security guards were later appointed to high positions in the government, as is the case with Viktor Zolotov of the National Guard.
Some intelligence analysts say the extreme security measures around Putin are partly explained by a kind of “paranoia”.
Others say the president, with his KGB experience, knows better than anyone how important his security is.
Be that as it may, it seems that Putin’s protection and isolation will only increase. As Galeotti puts it, things are done in the Kremlin “as Putin wants them done.”
