One of the fake offices is located 1,500 kilometers away, in Sochi, the Black Sea city where the 2014 Olympic Games were held and where Putin has a country residence. There is also reportedly an office in the vast forest area of Valdaj, a town between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The researchers discovered this based on hundreds of videos and leaked travel data of the Russian leader. These images show subtle differences in the interior and decoration of the office spaces.
Lower door handles
For example, the door handle in Novo-Ogarjovo appears to be lower than the one in Sochi, which can be seen from the lines of the wall panels. The location of the joints behind Putin, the position of the light switches and the shape of the furniture, such as the legs of the television cabinet, also do not match.
The letter trays on Putin’s desk also differ. They are all made from what appears to be polished stone and have the same wavy finish on top, but each one has its own color and pattern. That only reinforces the suspicion that these are different agencies.
Furthermore, the Russian government is said to have repeatedly reused old images and published months-old meetings as ‘new’ material. Since August alone, the Kremlin has released at least seven such videos, the Systema report said.
Putin is said to have ordered these replica offices to be built because he is increasingly concerned about his security. The remote refuge in Valdaj, where Putin’s partner Alina Kabaeva and their two sons are said to live, is on a peninsula and would be much harder to hit with missiles or drones.
Satellite images show that twelve Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft systems were installed around Lake Valdaj in the summer of 2024, as Kiev increased its drone attacks on Russian territory. Putin retreated to Valdaj in February 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine.
Safety obsession
The president’s fears are said to have been sparked by a Ukrainian drone strike near Putin’s Black Sea complex. Putin’s “security obsession,” as it is called by critics, is compared by researchers to that of Saddam Hussein, the “butcher of Iraq.”
He also had numerous guarded residences built to conceal his real whereabouts.
Source: Daily Mail, De Telegraaf