Here's Why Vladimir Putin Spends $2.7 Billion on Personal Weapons

you might think that having a personal Army of 340 000 troops is enough for a person to feel secure but for Russia's President Vladimir Putin that's just the icing on the cake so let's see how the president of the biggest country in the world spends more than 2.7 billion dollars on his own personal protection Putin's private Army being Vladimir Putin right now is not the safest job in the world it never was but since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine the Russian president has become one of the most wanted people on the planet however as a former KGB agent getting to Putin will never be easy especially with his highly trained and even better equipped personal protection detail this uneasy task has been delegated to the Federal Protective Service better known as the fso as you might have guessed the roots of this agency are deep in the KGB their power has grown immensely since the agency was formed as they took many other government agencies under their wing and are well known for Distributing the Russian budget as they please the head of the fso is a lovable psychopath named Victor zolotov in 2019 this outstanding human being was sanctioned due to multiple serious human rights violations in Russia zolotov has not earned a billionaire status despite his close relations with Vladimir Putin at least not on paper in fact the fso leader is worth approximately 40 million dollars as most of his assets are in real estate the fso as one can easily guess is not too frivolous in disclosing its budget and spending however some sources claim that the fso has several billion Rubles worth of annual budget and as around 50 000 Personnel however that's not the only agency tasked with Putin's Security in fact Putin can rely on more than 340 000 soldiers to do his dirty work as you can imagine these guys are not in Ukraine but rather are protecting the king himself at home the National Guard was formed in 2016 by President Putin himself this unit enlisting more than 340 000 troops answers directly to the president and many consider it Putin's answer to the Growing fso Power today the estimate suggests that Putin's private Army's upkeep costs the Russian taxpayers roughly 200 billion rules equal to approximately 2.7 billion US Dollars still that's just the outer layer of Defense even if you manage to get past these 340 000 troops if you want to get to the man himself you need to get through his personal guard the SBP while I'd never managed to pronounce the Russian version that's literally the president's security service this agency within the fso consists of four special units and roughly around 2 500 additional Personnel that have the sole task of laying their lives so the Russian president can survive unit 1 Putin's personal bodyguards Putin's personal bodyguards are the only unit in this highly secretive agency you can actually see they are meticulously Chosen and trained to become the best personal protection unit in the world that's not a joke while America's Secret Service is definitely not to be messed with they usually aim to incapacitate attackers the sbps task is a bit more deadly they have a green light to eliminate anyone they deem a threat naturally not anyone can qualify for this job rumors say that the job purposefully avoids former police officers as they were actually trained to detain and can hesitate to kill the troops in this last line of defense are actually highly skilled operational psychologists who can detect threats by looking at a person's face moreover they need to have extremely high stamina and should be able to withstand incredible heat and cold shivering or sweating might be considered a sign of weakness and if there is something the Russian dictator hates more than Ukrainian babies it's weakness moreover these bodyguards better known as The Musketeers must be between 19 and 35 years of age and between five foot seven and six foot two feet tall furthermore unlike cops they must stay visibly fit and muscular as they have to maintain their weight between 75 and 90 kilograms finally to become one of Putin's most trusted guards you need to know at least five foreign languages and have a deeper understanding of politics after all you need to know who Putin's International friends are although right now this last bit is not too hard to remember if you can count to two the Musketeers can often be seen beside the president looking intimidating holding briefcases these black leather briefcases are not an accessory or a way to transport essential documents but are in fact top of the line bulletproof Shields that can with stand almost any caliber bullet defense is not their only specialty though they are highly trained combatants trained to kill without remorse or hesitation they carry nine millimeter Gaza pistols armed with armor-piercing bullets that can penetrate even the toughest body armor from up to 50 meters although the weapon is not automatic it can shoot up to 40 rounds per minute so if you dream of becoming a Swiss cheese all you need to do is try to attack Putin the most impressive gear however is their Kevlar umbrellas which can deflect small caliber weapons when opened also you can use them as umbrellas isn't that nice unit 2 secret guards in the crowd if you are trying to attack the Russian president however reaching the last line of defense is not easy before you even get close the second unit will make sure each and every one of 2500 Elite operatives knows of your intentions the second unit consists of secret guards who are usually dispersed around the public and observe for signs of unrest those highly trained psychologists can determine your intentions by your mimics walk and posture the number of these guards is strictly classified and no one knows their tactics numbers or methods of work however they are usually Ambiguously clothed and participate in both Pro and anti-governmental events in some rare cases you can see these operatives in pictures as they often follow Putin in all his travels it's doubtful that the Russian president has such devoted fans that would follow him from Moscow to Vladivostok only to join the event however most western experts claim that such photos were orchestrated by the fso so that people in Russia know they are constantly being watched It's a method of public intimidation that ceases any unrest long before it is planned so what are this unit's combat capabilities no one knows most likely they are just as highly trained as the bodyguards but their main task is not to interact with suspects but to inform them of their movement and coordinate the other units to apprehend them however if they see a real threat they might jump into action or let the snipers handle the problem unit 3. snipers did you really believe that Putin would leave his life to chance of course not wherever Putin goes there are always Elite snipers nesting on building tops and inside Apartments the total number of snipers is unknown but analysts suggest that the fso purposefully positions some of these nests invisible spots so it would deter any attempt on Putin's life long before it comes to shooting these snipers are not people you'd want to provoke while they truly have nerves of Steel they are always looking for potential threats so if you decide to express your disappointment against the Russian president in any way while he's present you can be sure you have at least a dozen red dots on your forehead still don't worry public executions of critics are not widely spread even in Russia of course this will come after they arrest and beat you however a good idea is not to try and pull a water gun that president as this might end up a much different way than you imagined needless to say when Putin visits any town the snipers are scattered across the entire route people are warned not to look through the windows and any laundry that might be drying outside should be taken off this is where the fourth unit comes into play unit 4 in charge of securing the perimeter as it has become evident much of the SBP efforts focus on prevention that's entirely the fourth unit's task that's presumably the largest unit within the spp as it has the most critical job if the other three teams have to intervene this unit has failed and some people will surely get fired or have an incident with a window and a high floor the fourth unit is tasked with securing the perimeter and ensuring the president's safety outside the Kremlin this includes choosing the precise Road the president has to take to avoid choke points and places where civil unrest might unfold when abroad this job becomes far more complicated as some criminal gangs will be highly interested in capturing the Russian president on their own turf when Putin has plans to travel abroad this unit is sent at least two weeks in advance to check routes create escape plans determine points of threat and collaborate with local law enforcement to prevent any such acts against the Russian president naturally the host is just as interested in protecting their guest as the SBP moreover this Advanced unit has the task of choosing and securing the hotel where the president and his Entourage will stay usually they choose a highly luxurious five-star or higher hotel for more than two weeks then depending on the building's size and security features they reserve the entire Hotel an entire Wing or just several floors after the reservation is confirmed they move in and sweep the whole area inside and around the hotel they are looking for any potential threats like explosives spy devices and anything that might be perceived as a threat after they're done they seal the building until the president arrives then just before Putin arrives they make another quick sweep of the perimeter before the Russian president sets foot in the hotel in the meantime at home the rest of the unit chooses the servants that will go along with Putin on the visit while their screening methods are highly classified they rarely pick the same servants twice for security reasons only Putin's cook makes an exception to this rule as he was hand-picked by the president and knows precisely how the wannabe dictator loves his porridge as you can imagine a paranoid person like Putin could never trust foreign help so wherever he travels his servants cooks and butlers follow they take over the hotel's staff functions while Putin's in however the most essential piece of the puzzle is the food tasters the food tasters the food tasters are usually present at any event where the Russian president has to eat they have one single task to examine the food and taste it before it gets served in front of the dear leader for example during a visit of Turkish president erdogan to Russia Putin famously shared a pistachio ice cream with his Turkish colleague from a seemingly ordinary ice cream booth this might fool some people but when you know how seriously both Putin and erdogan take their security this was without a doubt an SBP agent who gave the two leaders a pre-approved and thoroughly checked ice cream with all these security measures unit 4 takes the heaviest load to protect its president as you can imagine Putin's stay abroad isn't cheap in fact a couple of nights in another country would often cost in the tens of millions still that's nothing compared with the extreme security measures Putin take when traveling at home presidents transportation in all honesty today Putin is not quite welcome anywhere in the world and with internal domestic problems and the president's power at risk the bunker-dwelling troll that rules over Russia is not quite willing to leave the country still before the war with Ukraine the Russian president had quite a few visits abroad and among other duties the spb had to secure his flights as well as you can imagine Putin isn't really traveling coach instead he prefers to enjoy the utmost luxury in his highly modified illusion ill-96 300 pu while this Aviation Masterpiece was built in the Soviet era Putin recently ordered a modification that costed nearly 11 million dollars this airplane is a genuine Air Force One equivalent as it operates as a flying command center it's basically a Kremlin in the sky unlike the current U.S Air Force One however Putin's ill-96 has some pretty luxurious features on board the astounding Birchwood furniture complemented by leather seatings is only the tip of the iceberg for this flying Masterpiece the interior is intricately decorated with gold silver and ivory some even suggest the bathrooms have golden fixtures but that's just a rumor can you imagine Putin going anywhere without Fitness nearby as those don't come often at twenty thousand feet Putin ordered one for his plane God knows Yeltsin didn't order it still let's not forget that this plane is actually a flying Command Center and naturally it has a consistent internet connection 87 satellite phones and a video conference room to top it all off putinforce1 is equipped with high-end military-grade defensive capabilities inside Russia the spb doesn't take too many chances either with internal power clashes over the war that will inevitably be lost the spb has to be on the lookout every second the president is on the road thankfully there were some protocols placed well before this scenario came into play with a private road worth approximately 60 million dollars that takes Putin directly from his home in Novo agayovo to the Kremlin security is a bit less complicated after all it's quite easy to detect threats on the road with only the president's car on the other hand whenever Putin has to go outside this road he is always followed by one truly inspiring motorcade it is genuinely a military parade on its own usually the president's limousine is escorted by at least six armored Vans filled with highly trained spec ops units armed with AK-47s draganov sniper rifles anti-tank grenade launchers portable anti-aircraft missile systems and probably a nuke or two the central piece of this spectacle is the presidential limousine in 2017 while preparing for his full-scale invasion of Ukraine Putin decided to switch his Mercedes-Benz S600 guard Pullman with a russian-made equivalent the honors went to auris well known as the limo provider for all Russian dictators from the Soviet era to answer the challenges of the time Putin invested nearly 200 million dollars in his new highly modified Aura semat the car costs merely three hundred thousand dollars but all its defensive and offensive features significantly bumped the price the manufacturer had to follow the fso's strict guidelines in creating a genuine moving bunker the so-called car can withstand any caliber bullets sniper fire landmines chemical gas attacks and small-scale missile attacks the vehicle is equipped with high-end Communications equipment to make it yet another mobile command center even when the windows blinds are completely shut an Ultra Modern CCTV system allows security inside to have a 360 degree view of the perimeter finally just to make sure it's as secure as possible a secret emergency exit is built at the rear of the car I wouldn't be surprised if there was a small Escape helicopter in the trunk as well yes Vladimir Putin's motorcade is truly impressive but it pales in comparison to the motorcade of the U.S president care to take a look at how Joe Biden travels

Channel: Luxury Zone

Views: 806,178

Keywords: vladimir putin, putin

Id: 0x1llQaCh8U

Length: 18min 12sec (1092 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 30 2023