"For Putin, it's child's play": The boundless security apparatus of the Russian president
President Trump's security drill turns out to be a minor detail in Putin's preparations. Not just swapping planes, but a private train, mysterious stations, identical offices, and network shutdowns. "Putin's public image is a lie."
The New York Times has revealed a glimpse into the elaborate security apparatus surrounding Russian President Vladimir Putin. One of the most prominent methods involves the use of identical offices across the president's various residences. Journalists have resorted to tracking his location by monitoring the state of plants and flowers in the room, as official deception regarding his whereabouts has become a daily occurrence.
While the Trump administration's secret drill to hide the replacement of the American president's plane at the NATO summit in Turkey drew global attention, experts suggest it is merely "child's play" compared to the secrecy surrounding Putin. Mikhail Rubin, a Russian investigative journalist, notes that for the Kremlin, such deception is not an exception but a core component of the system.
Identical offices and "canned" meetings
Putin utilizes nearly identical offices in several of his residences, allowing him to be filmed in meetings without viewers being able to discern his true location. According to reports and satellite imagery analysis, his security apparatus has also developed a presidential train, complete with special tracks and secret stations near at least three of his residences across Russia.
Government officials are required to participate in this charade: meetings with Putin are kept secret for weeks before being broadcast on television as if they were occurring in real-time. Russian journalists have coined the term "canned goods" for these pre-recorded meetings. Farida Rustamova, a journalist covering the Kremlin in exile, points out that participants in these filmed meetings sometimes appear with different clothing or haircuts than they had in other public appearances at the time, exposing the staged nature of the footage.
The scale of secrecy
The extent of efforts to conceal Putin's movements was notably revealed near Lake Valdai. In 2021, local residents noticed a mysterious railway track being built toward the president's complex, and satellite images later confirmed a new station with a helipad that did not appear on any official railway maps. A defector from the Russian Federal Protective Service (FSO) claimed that Putin uses the train specifically to avoid being tracked.
Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, these security methods have reached new levels. Disruptions in cellular internet have been recorded, and the massive motorcades moving through Moscow are often suspected to be decoys intended to confuse those tracking his movements. As Rubin emphasizes, this system is designed not only to protect the president but also to project an image of a leader who is constantly in action and firmly in control.
