Vladimir Putin is so paranoid about being assassinated that he employs one of his bodyguards as a washing machine operator at his dacha in Crimea, a Russian security officer who has defected said.
The former guard, who now lives in Ecuador, also described how armed divers were deployed to swim around Putin’s private beaches looking for assassins.
“This is how much he fears for his life,” Vitaly Brizhaty told TV Rain, a liberal-leaning independent Russian TV station exiled from the country.
Mr Brizhaty was a dog handler for the Federal Protection Service (FSO) and was stationed at Olivye, one of Putin’s secret residences in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
His interview with TV Rain offered a rare glimpse into Putin’s workings.
‘It’s a fantasy place’
Mr Brizhaty claimed the Russian leader didn’t even fully trust his own guards and would regularly give out false information on how he intended to arrive in Crimea and also where he was staying.
“People were told ‘he’s resting at the dacha’ and everybody is running around guarding him but he could be in another place altogether,” he said.
His testimony correlated with that offered by another FSO officer who fled Russia in the wake of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
That officer claimed Putin would send decoy motorcades out from his residence near Sochi to fool people into thinking that he was flying back to Moscow.
Mr Brizhaty’s account was more granular, however, even describing the ways in which Putin allegedly wanted his staff to behave.
He described Olivye, Putin’s palace in Crimea, as a luxury “mini-city” that had to be fully operational constantly with fresh food and flowers.
“It’s a fantasy place,” he said. “There are fitness halls, fountains, beautiful parks, tea house barbecue zones and beaches.”
Abhinav Thawait is a globe-trotting correspondent with a passion for international affairs. With a background in international relations, he offers a global perspective on the most pressing issues around the world. Abhinav’s curiosity takes his to the far corners of the earth, where he seeks to share untold stories and diverse viewpoints.
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