“Vladimir Putin is pathologically afraid for his life.” This was stated by a senior Russian security official who defected to the West last year in an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian. According to the defector, who worked for a special security agency that protects senior Russian officials, Putin has “lost touch with the world”. He also calls him a “war criminal”.
Gleb Karakulov, 36, was a captain in the Federal Protection Service (FSO), the special security service for Russia’s top brass. In the interview, Karakulov confirms the stories about Putin’s secret railway network near his residences in the Valdai National Park in Novo-Ogaryovo and near the resort of Sochi.
bunker
According to The Guardian, Karakulov was part of the presidential communications directorate’s “field team” that encrypts messages from top Russian officials. Karakulov calls Putin a “war criminal” who has “lost touch with the world.” According to the defector, Putin “has been living in an information cocoon for some years” and spends most of his time in his residences, “which the media appropriately call bunkers”.
Putin lives in a state within a state
Karakulov has been involved in setting up secret communication tools and networks for Putin on planes, helicopters, luxury yachts and even a bomb shelter at the Russian embassy in Kazakhstan when he visited that country in 2022.
Fear
“He’s terrified for his life,” Karakulov says. “He surrounds himself with an impenetrable barrier of quarantines and an information vacuum and values only his own life and that of his family and friends.” According to Karakulov, Putin lives in “a state within a state” where firefighters, food tasters and other technicians accompany him on his travels. They are also extremely loyal: “They call him boss, revere him, and speak only good things about him.” According to Putin’s British biographer Darryl Cunningham, this is characteristic of a dictator in his last stage: he loses touch with reality, becomes paranoid, surrounds himself with yes-men and fears attempts on his life.
Information cocoon
In the interview, Karakulov says that Putin gets his information exclusively from his own inner circle and its security services. The Russian president doesn’t use a cell phone or the Internet, and he doesn’t even take an Internet specialist with him on trips abroad. And if that weren’t enough, Putin is still in quarantine and all employees who work in the same room as him are also required to be quarantined for two weeks.
“He surrounds himself with yes-men who only share good news”
Putin maintains a string of identical offices in St. Petersburg, Sochi and Novo-Ogaryovo, and his intelligence services use fake cars and decoys to hide Putin’s whereabouts. According to Karakulov, this was to confuse foreign secret services and prevent attempts on his life.
Crown
Putin’s paranoid behavior, according to Karakulov and his British biographer Darryl Cunningham, has intensified since the 2020 coronavirus outbreak. He has cut himself off from the world and his view of reality has become further distorted. Illustrative is the ridiculously long table at which he receives his guests and advisers. Those who wanted an audience had to isolate themselves for two weeks in a state hotel protected by armed guards and had to pass through a special tunnel with ultraviolet light and antiseptic fog. The fact that Putin is terrified of the corona has long fueled rumors that his health is bad. However, Karakulov contradicts those rumors.
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
