It has been known for years that Putin has an almost pathological fear for his life and avoids any meetings with people. It is also known to have a huge number of secret bunkers and hideouts throughout the country. What is known about them.
The probability that someone wants to take the life of the Russian president is not at all small. Therefore, there is nothing unexpected in the fact that Vladimir Putin is trying his best to isolate himself from the world and protect himself, writes the German edition “Merkur”. This fact was also clearly seen during the Covid pandemic, when Putin talked with official envoys of other countries at a distance of 6 meters. It is also believed that Putin uses doppelgangers and that he has numerous secret hideouts. “Mercury“ recalls that a year ago Putin's hiding place near Sochi was discovered. But in the meantime, other similar shelters and bunkers are known, as stated by the Ukrainian secret services.
"Bunker Putin"
In other information, the German "Merkur" reports that two of Putin's hideouts are in Moscow – there, Putin has not only an official residence, but also an apartment for rent. It is considered almost impossible for Putin to stay in his villa in Sochi. Other residences of the president are located in Kaliningrad, Karelia (near the Finnish border), in the Altai Mountains and in the resort of Yalta on the Crimean peninsula. In addition, the head of state has the right to use all the residences of the army and the presidential administration.
„Information about Putin's bunkers is known and constantly updated. One of the Russian dictator's nicknames is “Putin the Bunker”, says Andriy Yuzov, a representative of the Ukrainian secret services. He adds that Putin likes to hide in these “dungeons” like Count Dracula. Yuzov, however, did not disclose the exact information and for what quantity of bunkers the Ukrainian secret services acquired, notes “Mercur”.
Pathological paranoia
The publication points out that the media has been excited for years by Putin's paranoia about his own security. It is believed that in order to protect his life, the Russian president considered the possible dangers and the corresponding exit options. Study of the site “Interlocutor“ revealed as early as 2022 that Putin had started building a network of bunkers even before the start of the war in Ukraine. There were such shelters in almost every part of Russia, something more – the head of the Kremlin had two bunker systems: one official and one secret, writes “Mercur”, referring to the editor-in-chief of “Conversator“ Oleg Roldugin.
Anders Aslund, who was an adviser to the former Russian president Boris Yeltsin, said for his part to “De Welt“: “The scale of Putin's paranoia seems almost pathological. According to him, Putin is full of fear and hardly decides to meet people in public places. At the same time, it isolates itself more and more from the outside world. “Putin has bunkers near his three main residences. He travels around the country in an armored train, and at each of his three residences he has built special stations that are personal to him,” says Aslund.
The bunkers are deep underground
The official bunker system is managed by the Main Directorate for Special Programs of the Russian President – an office that reports directly to Vladimir Putin. But many more bunkers are added to them, about which nothing is mentioned in the official documents. They are supposed to be even much more than the official ones. The assumptions spread by “Interlocutor“ are based on data from documents about their construction.
”Ukrainian Pravda” for its part, it reported that some of the bunkers that could be used by Putin were 200 meters underground. In the spring of 2023, “Business Insider” wrote about the existence of construction plans testifying to Putin's secret hideouts. Then it was about his palace on the Black Sea, specifies “Mercur“. Under the palace there was an extensive and luxurious bunker system, capable of satisfying even the highest demands.