Why Putin Is (Almost) Impossible to Kill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pO-MTDW6nU&t=616s
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Vladimir Putin has a lot of enemies.So, how does he protect himself?In this video, we’ll look at four of the Kremlin’s security measures.A rolling fortress, orchestrated chaos in the skies,a ghost train straight out of a James Bond movie,and sophisticated deception tactics.Together,they tell a story, about the Russian state >> [music] >> and its increasingly paranoid leader.>> Confirmed.>> Since 2000, Vladimir Putin has spent most of his time here,in Novo-Ogaryovo.But the Russian president also often stays at this luxury residence in Valdai.And he’s believed to own this opulent estate in Crimea,a summer residence in Sochi, and a palace at Cape Idokopas.>> [music] >> To move between these locations or attend state visits,Putin needs to travel.And that’s when he’s most vulnerable.He’s protected around the clock by both visible and covert security forces.But the Kremlin relies on one thing above all.Unpredictability.This is Putin’s car, an Aurus Senat limousine.
The interior is fitted with luxury features, genuine leather,plush seating, and a mini bar.But more importantly, it’s a fortress on wheels.Imagine this.Putin is on his way to Moscow.Suddenly, a group of attackers opens fire.But the limo is heavily armored, designed to withstand high-caliber rounds,and reportedly even armor-piercing ammunition.Their bullets have no effect, so the attackers throw a hand grenade.Even then, the limo stays intact and barrels forward as if nothing happened.
similar to:
tailgating
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[I, T]~ (sb/sth)(informal, especially NAmE) to drive too closely behind another vehicle 紧跟（另一车辆）行驶
barrel: [I] + adv./prep.(NAmE, informal) to move very fast in a particular direction, especially in a way that you cannot control （无法控制地）高速行进，飞驰
He came barreling down the hill and smashed into a phone booth.
他沿山坡飞驰下来，撞进了一个电话亭。
The fuel tank is fortified against explosions.The tires are fire resistant and reinforced.Even if all four were destroyed, the car could keep on driving.The limo is incredibly heavy, 6.5 tons,but it’s surprisingly fast.It’s powered by a 4.4 L V8 twin turbo engine supported by a hybrid power train.In an emergency,it can accelerate to 100 km/h in 12 seconds and reach top speeds of up to 170.The cabin has its own air filtration system,so even a gas attack probably wouldn’t have an effect.
There’s an emergency exit, too.Putin’s limo is extremely secure.But for longer distances, he prefers another means of transport.Putin is flying to North Korea for a state visit.He’s on board an Ilyushin Il-96.The model was developed in the Soviet Union back in the 1980s.Technically, it’s considered outdated.The long-haul jet still has four engines, but Putin continues to rely on it.His customized version is known as the flying Kremlin,and it’s equipped for maximum comfort.The presidential jet is stocked with a king-size bed, a conference room,a dining area, and a personalized gym.Even at 10,000 m, security remains the top priority.The flying Kremlin reportedly has its own advanced [music] communications array,missile defense system, and emergency escape pod.When necessary, it’s escorted by fighter jets.But that’s not all.Intelligence reports also suggest that Putin is so paranoid, that he’s constantly accompanied by a team of personal doctors.Most of us can’t relate.
Half of us haven’t even booked a dentist appointment in years,but we keep meaning to.You go once,you keep telling yourself you’ll book the next one before you even get home,and then somehow 2 years go by, and you’re Googling teeth hurt normal midnight?Or maybe you get it together and use Zocdoc, today’s video sponsor.Zocdoc’s a free website that helps you find and book doctors, dentists,dermatologists, all the people you don’t want to see,but have to, and they’re all near you.With over 150,000 providers across hundreds of specialties,you can read reviews from real patients, and see openings that you can instantly book online,which is great if you don’t love calling.Appointments usually happen within 24 to 72 hours, sometimes even the same day.A filter lets you search by specific health insurance policies, too.Click the link in the description or go to zocdoc.com/fern, and take care of your health without the wait.Thanks again to Zocdoc for sponsoring today’s video.
Now, let’s get back to it.The flying Kremlin is said to be just one of four identical presidential planes.Whenever Putin flies abroad on official business,the three clone aircraft also take off.They all follow different routes,making it difficult to track Putin’s exact movements.But even this elaborate tactic has a weakness.>> It’s relatively easy to track an airplane, right?>> This is Russian investigative journalist Ilya Rozhdestvensky.Living in exile, he works with the Dossier Center,a non-profit investigative project.>> There are dozens, websites [music] like Flightradar, and all these sort of things that provide data on different airplanes.>> Technically, each of these aircraft could be tracked and located,which means that in theory, a powerful adversary could target all four at once,which is exactly why Putin prefers his train.If you saw this train moving through Russia, you’d barely notice it.>> It looks like a normal Russian train, gray with red stripes.
There is probably very little chance, that you would recognize it if you see [music] it somewhere.>> Look closer, and you notice a few oddities,like multiple diesel locomotives at the front of the train.And this small dome on the roof.>> For the special communications and that’s probably it.That’s the only thing that is different from the normal train.>> It isn’t a secret that Putin has his own special train.The Kremlin has even released images from its onboard conference room.But for a long time, no one knew what the rest of the train looked like.Until the Dossier Center released some highly confidential documents.These were allegedly leaked by an insider at Circon Service,a Russian company specializing in manufacturing custom railway cars.The Kremlin allegedly, tasked Circon Service with building the cars for the presidential train.>> It’s not a very big business.There are not too many people who really want to, spend their money to build [music] a custom train.
According to the leaks, the train is heavily armored and bulletproof.[music], That makes it so heavy, that each car needs six axles rather than the standard four.>> Inside, wow,it’s luxurious.It’s really something incredible.This train provides him with anything he could possibly need.So, there is a car where he can sleep,there is a car for work, there is a restaurant car.>> One car is even said to house a fully equipped gym, and a beauty salon soundproofed to prevent audio surveillance,complete, with a massage table and a radio frequency, machine designed to keep the skin firm.The Kremlin [music] denies that, Putin has ever used or owned, a train car like this.Finally,there’s a tiled spa area featuring a full Turkish steam bath and shower.Ilya says the ghost train doesn’t appear on official timetables.>> They will only track this train.>> [music] >> If you work with the Russian Railway company,you can still find some data about this train,
but needs some special access to the internal infrastructure.So,there is no way for normal people, to understand that some special train is moving.>> It simply speeds toward its destination,blowing right past any stations along the way.Apparently,it often does so on its own secret, train tracks which terminate, at private train stations built, just for Putin.>> There are a couple of stations [music] that, they were built specifically for Vladimir Putin.So, basically they are mainly his palaces,official residences, houses.So, I think there are like at least three of them.We know about one in Sochi where his official residence is located,Botcharov Ruchey.One is not far from Moscow in Novo-Ogaryovo.It’s probably one of his main official residence.[music] And the third one is in Valdai.That’s his main place.That’s where he and his family spend most of the year.>> So, at any given time,it’s hard to say which of his official residences Putin is at.There’s another meeting scheduled for today.Lately,
Putin’s been holding more video, calls and making more addresses, from the presidential, office in Novo-Ogaryovo,especially since Russia invaded Ukraine.Many of these are recorded and released to the public.For Russians,the office in the presidential residence is instantly recognizable.The room, the table,the background.But wait.In footage of Putin’s office,investigative journalists have noticed something peculiar.Take a look at this door handle and then look two.Notice how they’re not the same height?The thermostat is also positioned slightly differently.Here it’s centered, but here it’s placed slightly to the left.In this one, it’s slightly lower.The wall panels behind Putin are also arranged in slightly different ways.Other details like the vents in the TV stands are also inconsistent.It appears that Putin has had near identical, replicas of his office built in his residences, in Valdai and Sochi.>> The idea behind this is that Vladimir Putin prepares to stay, um,I would say silent, probably.
So,he, makes it look like he’s at his office, in his official residence in Novo-Ogaryovo,and he records some video or makes some statements,and there is also, some part of his statement where [music] it’s said that, it’s all happening in Novo-Ogaryovo,for instance.>> In fact, he could be anywhere.He will wants that only a limited amount of people knows exactly where he is.>> If no one knows his real location, he’s impossible to target.Still, reports suggest that since attacking Ukraine,Putin has been staying clear of his Sochi summer residence, out of concern over potential Ukrainian drone strikes.Reports even claim he’s had the village torn down.Putin seems to be growing increasingly paranoid.Maybe that has to do with his time as a KGB agent in East Germany.His work as a spy and the collapse of the GDR, may have shaped his distrust of civil society and his fear of popular uprisings.To this day, he surrounds himself with an inner circle of former KGB associates.Or maybe he’s aware of the hostility.
he attracts as the autocratic leader of a corrupt oligarchy, waging a brutal war of aggression.Or maybe it’s the idea that his, political opponents are actively, plotting to overthrow him,a notion Putin’s own intelligence services often encourage.Or maybe it’s that Ukrainian intelligence, services operate deep behind enemy lines, and Ukrainian drones are a growing threat.Putin seems afraid.Afraid of attacks, of betrayal,and of losing control.More than ever, he seems to be isolating himself.>> A lot of people who like to kill him.So, there is uh some strong proof that probably he uh care about his security.>> During [music] meetings,long tables keep his guests several meters away from him.His meals are prepared by personal chefs who use only ingredients, they provide themselves.[music] Before being served, each meal is tested for poison in a portable lab.When he travels abroad, Putin’s bodyguards reportedly, even collect his excrement,then take it back to Russia with, them to prevent foreign powers.
from gathering intel on his health.>> He can’t [music] just have this meetings,he must tell him everything he needs and discuss him.He’s not just a regular president of a regular country, right?He prefers to micromanage everything.And he believes that one of his resources,the resources of, all his power is that he’s the only one who makes all the decisions.So, that is why the people who have as an access to him,they’re more powerful.But the people that don’t have this access, they’re they don’t have any power.And he is the source of this power.That’s like his secretary.Being isolated is one of the key elements of his regime.>> According to Ukraine’s former head of military intelligence,Putin has no less than three body doubles.These men are said to have undergone plastic surgery to look just like him.Apparently, the only thing giving them away is their height,their body language, and their earlobes.The Kremlin denies these claims.>> Key years ago we had an interview with Gleb Karakulov.
He was an officer and he was working, in the security service which is called Federal Guard Service.They provide protection for Russian presidents.He told us in this interview that well,actually there is no double like a real double,but there was some kind of a cover operations.Colleagues of Karakulov, they took an airplane,they took the car,they put it someone who looks kind of like Vladimir Putin, and they made, sure that everybody [music] could see that the car goes to the plane,somebody leaves the car, goes to the airplane,and then this plane flies somewhere, for instance to Moscow.But the real Vladimir Putin stays in Sochi and he does whatever he wants.>> With or without doppelgangers,Putin operates within a system of maximum security.He travels in one of the most secure cars on the planet, and moves along secret routes.He rides a ghost train and addresses the public from identical, replicas of his office.And yet it seems like there’s one thing all these measures just can’t give him.
A sense of safety.