(MOSCOW) – Vladimir Putin’s domestic and foreign trips are complex operations costing Russian taxpayers tens or even hundreds of millions of roubles each, involving hundreds of security personnel, personal chefs, doctors and specially vetted members of the public.
An investigation by the Navalny LIVE channel, published on 4th August 2026, details the extensive “rider” of demands that accompany the Russian dictator’s every movement. These include pre sealed hotel rooms, armoured limousines flown in from Moscow, and a personal medical team that has grown from five to nine specialists.
Security is the paramount concern. The Federal Guard Service sends an advance team to inspect accommodation and routes before any visit. Dozens, sometimes hundreds, of hotel rooms are booked for security, protocol and technical staff. Entire floors are reserved. Hotel toiletries in the presidential suite are replaced with items brought from Russia, and the room itself is sealed in advance. One lift is reserved exclusively for Putin and his guards.
For foreign trips, multiple aircraft are used. One carries the motorcade and equipment, another the delegation, and a third transports Putin himself. Armoured Aurus limousines, each costing tens of millions of roubles, are delivered separately by train or cargo plane. The aircraft carrying the vehicles may be escorted by one or two fighter jets to the Russian border.
Former FSB communications officer Gleb Karakulov revealed that Putin does not use a mobile phone. Instead, a special secure communications booth, a cube approximately 2.5 metres high, is transported for his use. “If earlier we installed communications in the ambassador’s office or in some negotiation room, then in October, when I was there, we installed another telephone in a bomb shelter,” Karakulov said.
Putin’s personal comfort extends to temperature control. One FSB employee said the dictator prefers a specific temperature regime so that “nowhere is draughty.” Work spaces are cleaned daily with special products and ventilated on all days except during the flowering period of alder and birch, suggesting the dictator suffers from allergies.
Food is prepared exclusively by personal chefs who are all serving FSB officers. “All my chefs are employees of the Federal Guard Service. They are military people in various ranks. I have no other chefs,” Putin has said. Ingredients are brought from Russia, and mobile laboratories test for toxins. Putin prefers wild fish, hunted meat, and chickens raised on small farms. A chef with combat training tastes every dish before it reaches the president.
During the 2019 G20 summit in Japan, Putin was observed drinking from a special thermal mug while Donald Trump used a regular glass. This mug, first seen in December 2014 after the annexation of Crimea, is reportedly made to special order. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was for convenience, but investigators suggest it is another measure against poisoning. Putin’s sons from Alina Kabaeva reportedly use identical mugs.
Putin’s health is a major preoccupation. His elder daughter Maria Vorontsova studies genetic materials. His cousin’s daughter heads a network of private clinics. Despite this, Putin practises alternative medicine, including baths of maral antler extract in the Altai mountains. Journalists from the Proekt outlet found that Putin is accompanied by a growing team of doctors. “We compiled a schedule of doctors’ visits to Putin over four years. There were 60 medics, of whom 17 flew once,” the investigation states. ENT specialists Alexey Shcheglov and Igor Isakov are the most frequent companions, each with dozens of trips. Oncologist surgeon Yevgeny Selivanov, who specialises in thyroid tumours, is also a regular.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, anyone meeting Putin had to undergo weeks of quarantine. Hotels were fully bought out for staff. Putin held meetings via video link from several identical offices built across the country to create the impression he was in the capital.
One of the most unusual claims concerns Putin’s biological waste. Hollywood actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus said a Vienna museum guide told her that Putin travels with a personal toilet. The French outlet Paris Match later confirmed that a special FSO officer is responsible for collecting the dictator’s biomaterials and transporting them to Russia in a special suitcase. During the 2019 Normandy Four summit in Paris, BBC correspondent Jonah Fisher counted six guards accompanying Putin to the toilet, one carrying a small case.
For public appearances, Putin uses vetted extras. At the 2019 MAKS air show, he bought ice cream from the same vendor who had served him two years earlier. The woman later claimed to be a trade manager, not a simple seller. In 2020 in St Petersburg, “random passers by” included officials and employees of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s structures. In Bashkortostan in 2021, local administration staff posed as workers.
Since August 2021, Putin’s main transport for domestic trips has been a personal armoured train. Built between 2014 and 2015, it allows for more secretive travel between residences. It does not appear in Russian Railways schedules. The train has no identifying numbers, and curtains are always drawn. Inside there is a gym, hammam, cosmetologist’s office, medical equipment including a defibrillator, and secure communications. The gym, hammam and cosmetologist’s office cost the budget more than 400 million roubles (£3.9 million / $4.9 million). The total cost of the train is estimated at 7 billion roubles (£68.6 million / $86.1 million).
Putin’s companion Alina Kabaeva also uses the train, most often travelling to Valdai, where a secret guarded station was built near the residence.
The investigation notes that Putin’s entourage also has unusual demands. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s administration reportedly paid for subscriptions to Russian Night and Playboy TV channels using budget funds.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, now head of the VEB.RF state corporation, reportedly flew his corgi dogs to international dog shows on a private jet. “At least eight flights for dog shows,” the investigation found. The cost of transporting the dogs exceeded 40 million roubles (£392,000 / $492,000).
The video was released by the Navalny LIVE channel.
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