Is the Russian president so confident in his people’s support that he travels without a security detail? On August 12, a pro-Russian social media user took to X to share a video of Putin meeting supporters in front of a petrol station. The post garnered tens of thousands of views on X and was also shared on Facebook.
The French-speaking social media user claimed that the Russian president had little to no security present, which he compared with the extensive security details that accompany French President Emmanuel Macron when he travels. For this social media user, the fact that Macron needs a lot of security when he travels is proof of the distance between the French president and his population:
“While Macron hides behind 50 members of the riot police and police barriers just to lay down a wreath… Putin is getting out of his car in the middle of the street, shaking hands, smiling and talking to people. The crowd welcomes him like a father […] You don’t see 15,000 police officers to protect him as he walks 200 metres. Just Russians who love their president. And a president who isn’t afraid of his people. In the meantime, in France: […] a head of state who won’t set a foot outside without masses of security.”
Putin did indeed interact with supporters on August 11 during a visit to the Siberian town of Novosibirsk. However, contrary to the claims made by this social media user, Putin had a robust security detail, a security expert who spoke to our team but requested anonymity told us. They said: “This is the Russian equivalent to what is put in place for Emmanuel Macron.”
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«That’s a controlled crowd,” says the specialist. They cite another video showing Putin’s convoy arriving at the petrol station, this time filmed from above. “There is no one on the road, which means that it was shut down beforehand.”
This image shows a “classic three-zone security plan”, the expert says.
Men carrying assault rifles
“Zone 1 is the one dedicated to the president’s security service” which takes care of the close protection of the leader, the expert says. They highlighted that, in the video, you can see a special forces unit.
In the video of the crowd shared by the social media user, you can see three men wearing military gear and night-vision goggles and carrying assault rifles. Their uniforms have an insignia in Russian: «СБП». This is the abbreviation for «Служба безопасности президента Российской Федерации» (Security Services for the President of the Russian Federation), says Benjamin Gravisse, a political scientist and an author of the blog Red Samovar, a site specialised in military questions linked to the Russian army.
Aside from these three men, our team counted at least 10 other members of the presidential security team in Putin’s close vicinity in the video posted online. This count doesn’t include the security services also visible in the background as well as those sitting inside the vehicles that make up the convoy.
An armoured limousine
The president’s limousine is also positioned in zone 1. And it isn’t just any limousine: you can see in another video of the Russian president’s visit that it is an Aurus Senat, an armoured vehicle.
If you look at the website of Russian manufacturer Aurus, it indicates that this limousine is equipped with BR5-level protection, which is equivalent to the European VPAM VR10 standard. This is the highest level of ballistics protection possible for a vehicle. It was created to protect against munitions specifically designed to pierce armoured vehicles.
Still in zone 1, there is also a van from the presidential security detail that appears to have small round domes on its roof. These are likely either part of an anti-drone system or equipment to establish a satellite link, Gravisse says. The small domes do look like those used in the Russian PRES-VM system, an electronic warfare system that is able to operate drone interference at 360 degrees.
A convoy containing at least 23 vehicles
The security expert who requested anonymity told us that zone 2 of the security perimeter around Putin was managed by Russian military police, while zone 3 was managed by local police.
Our team counted at least 23 vehicles in Putin’s convoy. There are a number of Russian police vehicles towards the back, including several Haval F7, which are distinctive and white.
Securing the convoy’s route and managing traffic
Zones 2 and 3 are used to secure the convoy’s route and manage traffic along the way. «When a public figure is working the rope line [Editor’s note: interacting with a controlled crowd], the units stationed in these zones work together to secure the section of sidewalk where the Russian president is stationed,” the expert says.
Police units were also used to secure the route taken by the convoy near the Siberian Circular Photon Source synchrotron radiation facility (SKIF) in Novosibirsk, which our team geolocated. The Russian police also asked spectators to stand in a ditch next to the road, according to a woman who you can hear in this video published on Telegram:
«I stood in a ditch alongside the road with several children and two other adults to wait for Putin in Novosibirsk. Initially, we were all standing at the bus stop near SKIF, but about 15 minutes before Putin arrived, they suddenly told us all to move away.»
Possible air defence mobilised
Finally, according to Ateo Breaking, a Russian-language media outlet critical of Putin, some air defence was provided for his visit. A video shared by this media outlet shows a TIGR, a Russian Army armoured 4×4. Next to it is a machine gun that seems to be aimed at the sky, suggesting a position to counter a potential aerial threat.
The FRANCE 24 Observers team was able to geolocate the TIGR: it was stationed near the Novosibirsk hydroelectric dam.
While it is difficult to ascertain if this unit was specifically brought in for Putin’s visit, it was part of the active security that day.
This article has been translated from the original in French by Brenna Daldorph.
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