The illusion was exposed when investigators noticed that the height of the door handle differed slightly between shots, revealing that the footage had been recorded across two locations.
Changing rooms
Other clues include the height of the wall seam behind Putin’s desk and small changes in furniture and fittings – from the shape of a TV stand and the colour of a table to the number of ceiling vents and the position of a thermostat.
The report concludes that Putin has increasingly favoured his heavily guarded Valdai residence since the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine.
Although the existence of identical rooms has been rumoured before, analysts had not previously been able to distinguish between them.
Researchers corroborated their findings with travel records from state TV journalists – sworn to secrecy about where they film the Russian leader – and members of his security detail.
Systema analysis of Putin’s office decor revealed tiny discrepancies.Credit: UK Telegraph/RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
“It’s obviously about security,” Konstantin Gaaze, a Russian academic and autocracy expert, told RFE/RL. “It would look unbecoming to put Pantsir [air defences] on the Kremlin towers … So, naturally, the main location now is Valdai.”
Kremlin aides have also falsified dates on which footage of the Russian president was taken, according to Systema, often using pre-recorded footage taken some days or weeks before to obscure Putin’s actual location and activities.
According to Systema, almost every meeting said to have been filmed at Novo-Ogaryovo this year actually took place at Valdai, as Putin has become increasingly concerned about security.
The remote retreat at Valdai, reportedly home to Putin’s partner, Alina Kabaeva, and their two sons, sits on a peninsula and is thought to be far harder to target with missiles or drones.
Putin’s large residence at Lake Valdai, where his partner and young sons reportedly live.
Satellite images show that 12 Pantsir-S1 air defence systems were installed around Lake Valdai in the northern summer of 2024 as Kyiv stepped up its drone attacks on Russian territory.
By contrast, only 60 such systems cover the entire Moscow metropolitan area, home to more than 20 million people, according to The Moscow Times.
Ukrainian drones have been spotted near Putin’s Kremlin office and are believed to have sparked a fire close to his Black Sea palace complex – the one once famed for its “aquatic disco”, pole-dancing boudoir, hookah lounge and miniature railway.
Fears of attack have prompted Putin to alter his living and working arrangements despite all his residences being equipped with bunkers.
Spot the difference: Analysts pored over the decor of Putin’s offices to shed light on the Russian leader’s movements.Credit: UK Telegraph/RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
Reports by opposition outlet Proekt claimed Putin had levelled his Stalin-era Bocharov Ruchey summer palace, once used to host foreign dignitaries, amid concerns it was vulnerable to Ukrainian strikes.
Gaaze compared Putin’s security obsessions to those of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, who maintained numerous closely guarded residences to obscure his location.
“Even his closest circle didn’t know where he was at any given time,” Gaaze said. “He did it for the same reason Putin is doing it now. He didn’t fear internal retribution. He feared American Tomahawks.”
The Telegraph, London
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