Putin spends weeks in bunkers amid coup fears and elite tensions
Vladimir Putin (Photo: Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS)
Security measures around Vladimir Putin have been significantly tightened since March over fears of a possible plot or coup attempt, according to a European intelligence report shared with outlets including CNN, Financial Times and Vazhnye Istorii on May 4.
Journalists from Vazhnye Istorii obtained documents from a source close to the security service that compiled the report. It says the Federal Protective Service (FSO) has sharply reduced the list of places Vladimir Putin can visit, and he no longer travels to his residences in Valdai or Moscow Oblast.
Putin spends much of his time in bunkers, including in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai, where he can work for weeks while his press service releases pre-recorded video, the report said.
Visitors to the presidential administration are now required to undergo two levels of screening. Staff working near Putin have been banned from using internet-enabled mobile phones and from traveling on public transport. Surveillance systems have also been installed in the homes of cooks, photographers and security personnel.
Intelligence officials believe Putin fears a conspiracy among Russian political elites more than Ukrainian attacks. He is said to be considering the possibility of an assassination attempt carried out with drones.
The Financial Times, which also reviewed the documents, reported that Putin’s isolation has increased in recent years, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic. Since March, however, the Kremlin’s fears of a coup or assassination attempt, including involving drones, have sharply intensified, sources said.
“The shock from Ukraine’s ‘Cobweb’ drone operation is still being felt,” a source familiar with Putin told the newspaper.
Security concerns were further heightened after the United States captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January, a second source familiar with Putin said.
In response, the FSO further tightened security measures. Putin reduced his travel, and security checks for people meeting him in person became even stricter, the FT reported.
Ukraine’s attempts to target senior Russian officers in the rear have also fueled tensions among security agencies. In December 2025, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov and National Guard head Viktor Zolotov reportedly clashed during a security meeting.
Putin intervened to calm the dispute and later tasked the FSO with protecting Gerasimov and 10 other senior Defense Ministry officers.
Vazhnye Istorii said some details in the report were confirmed by independent sources, including a growing fear within the Kremlin of a conspiracy or coup attempt. This is reflected not only in tightened security around the Kremlin and other locations Putin visits, but also in what the report described as “indirect signs.”
A current FSB officer told the outlet it has become much harder to obtain authorization for wiretaps in non-political criminal cases because “all equipment has been redirected to monitor the government and other authorities.”
Journalists also said Putin’s fears of an assassination attempt or conspiracy are “indirectly evidenced” by the fact that no State Duma deputies were invited to this year’s Victory Day parade on Red Square.
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