Evidence that Putin has “clone offices” that allow him to pretend to be in Moscow. How the Kremlin leader directs his public appearances on a daily basis
Fear became his system of government. Vladimir Putin, the leader who turned Russia into a fortress, seems to have erected his own parallel reality: identical offices, built to give the illusion that he is in Moscow, when in fact he is hiding hundreds of kilometers away for fear of Ukrainian missiles.
Putin has identical offices in the Kremlin, Valdai and SOci/FOTO:X
Rumors of using multiple doubles, food tasters and a specially equipped armored train for personal use have long followed him.
Now, according to an investigation published by the Russian platform Sistema, the Russian leader has gone even further: two replicas of his official office at the Novo-Ogariovo residence have been set up in Sochi and Valdai, to allow him to appear wherever he wants, whenever he wants.
The photographs and records analyzed show subtle differences between the three desks: the height of the paneling behind the desk, the position of the switches, the shape of the door handles or the patterns of the desk trays. Nothing spectacular, but enough for the keen eye of the researchers, who compared more than 700 official videos of Putin, many labeled as “from Novo-Ogariovo”. In reality, they say, most of it was filmed at Valdai, the Russian leader's favorite forest residence.
In recent years, his public appearances in Moscow have dwindled drastically. After the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February 2022, Putin retreated to Valdai, where, according to sources, Alina Kabaeva and their children also live. When the invasion stalled, he moved temporarily to Sochi to “get some sea air,” as Russian commentators wryly joked.
Each of these residences is provided with underground bunkers and anti-aircraft protection. “It's safer in Valdai,” explains political scientist Konstantin Gaaze, quoted by Sistema. “The relief is favorable, the forest hides everything, and the Pantir systems can be placed without looking bad in the pictures. On the Kremlin towers, on the other hand, it would look ridiculous.”
Gaaze compares Putin's isolation and security mania to Saddam Hussein's paranoia: “It is no longer a question of a charismatic leader, but of one who is hiding from his own country. His system is more and more like that of the dictators of old.”
In front of the cameras, Putin appears in the same beige decor, with flags and gold watches, talking about “stability” and “patriotism”. Behind the image, however, is a game of mirrors, identical desks and film sets. Officials and crews of the state television are obliged to keep secret the actual location of the filming — and the labels “filming in Novo-Ogariovo” often hide another truth: the sessions take place in Sochi or Valdai.
From January 2025, Sistema sources say, Putin would have completely stopped using the genuine office in the Moscow region. Only once this year has he been back there — for a televised meeting with parliamentary party leaders and for a celebratory taping broadcast at the Intervision music contest.
Otherwise, the president of Russia runs the country from a decor copied to the millimeter, protected by the forest and the fear of death. A perfect picture for a power that has built its entire stability on illusion.
