Anyone looking at Vladimir Putin’s presidential plane from the outside will see little difference from an ordinary commercial plane. You will notice that it is large, that it lacks the brand of an airline and that the paintwork bears the colors of Russia and a flag of the country.
It is an Ilyushin IL-96-300 PU, a model initially designed for commercial flights, but which, of course, was modified to ensure the transport of one of the most powerful heads of state in the world.
Today, as far as we know, it has everything from golden seats to the dreaded nuclear button that fires the powerful warheads of the Russian Army — in addition, of course, to cutting-edge security technology.
Dubbed the “flying Kremlin”, the aircraft is equipped so that Putin can command the entire country in midair, even in the event of a war, such as the one the country is waging in Ukraine.
The choice of aircraft
Russian-made, it is not produced in series (like models by Boeing, responsible for Air Force One, the plane of the President of the United States), but on demand. And the letters “PU”, in the name of the aircraft, mean that the model was made with special modifications to suit the presidential fleet.
There is a diplomatic message in your choice: not only pride of a national product, but also some status of exclusivity, since, according to the specialized website CH-Aviation, there are currently only five models of this aircraft active in the world – and only one used. for commercial flights in Cuba.
The plane made its maiden flight in 1998, and since then, what became a problem for airlines, has become a solution for the Russian Air Force.
​The fact that the IL-96 has four turbines makes its maintenance and fuel costs much higher. On the other hand, it guarantees not only greater autonomy, but also more safety (it would be possible to land it, in an emergency, even with only one of the engines running).
The commercial version has a flight range of almost 12,000 kilometers, considering its maximum capacity (300 passengers). With a lot fewer people and even modified to have more fuel, the presidential version can certainly fly much longer without stopping for gas.
Few people in the world have ever entered Vladimir Putin’s presidential Ilyushin. Therefore, it is practically impossible to know its interior in detail — even because the aircraft is constantly undergoing improvements and modifications.
One of the few things the general public gets to see is the inside of the plane’s door, thanks to the traditional boarding and disembarkation ceremony for heads of state.
And even from photos it is already possible to notice that this small part of the aircraft changes from time to time — there are images in which it is made of wood and with a golden lever, others in which it is completely white.
What is known through photos, leaked or published, is that the presidential aircraft exudes luxury and can serve as a residence for a long time in case of need — for example, in a war.
There are meeting rooms with Russian symbols, leather seats and a bathroom with a gold sink — the Kremlin says this detail belongs to an early version of the aircraft.
The neoclassical decoration is by Russian painter Ivan Glazunov, son of Ilia Glazunov, one of the most decorated artists in the country and who was once dean of the Academy of Fine Arts in Moscow.
In addition to a huge room to rest, Putin also has a complete gym at his disposal.
The cost of each aircraft, of course, is uncertain. According to the specialized website Simple Flying and the American magazine Newsweek, it was US$ 504 million (R$ 2.4 billion, at the current price).
But it’s impossible to know how much more would have been spent to customize its interior and, more importantly, build its security system.
As might be expected, the Kremlin does not release details of the defense systems of the aircraft carrying Russia’s most important person — as no other country does.
Legend has it that whenever Putin travels, two identical planes are fully prepared and he chooses which one to fly on the moment he arrives for boarding. The two take off, one with the illustrious passenger, the other to throw off enemies or to take the first’s place in case of need.
As Putin’s former pilot Konstantin Tereschenko told Gazeta Russa, there is also an “advanced group” of technicians who travel and have the “capacity to even dismantle and reassemble the entire plane” if necessary.
What is certain is that the president has at his disposal an apparatus with which he is able to govern the country even in displacement and press the “nuclear button” to fire some of the most destructive warheads that humanity has ever seen.
There would also be mechanisms to make the plane invisible to radar, air missile defense systems, and an escape pod in case all that fails.
A fleet of fighter jets would accompany the aircraft whenever it takes off, even in Russian airspace.
