This video is sponsored by NordVPN. Stay secure online by going to nordvpn.com/sidenote and
get 70% off of the 3-year plan and an additional month free.
This is Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting Pope Francis in the Vatican City.
And this is Putin in Japan for the G20 summit.
Every year, Putin can expect to make an extensive list of foreign trips to conferences and meetings
with world leaders. From Syria to Belarus, Belgium to Kazakhstan, Putin has traveled
to the four corners of the Earth. And for those who don’t know, this Russian President
likes to travel in style - but above all, safety.
Throughout history, powerful leaders have gone to extraordinary lengths to protect themselves
from danger and their enemies. Spies, bullet-proof vehicles and background checks on visitors
are all routine measures employed by secretive security agencies dedicated to protecting
the world’s elite.
For the Russian president Vladimir Putin, being able to travel safely to meet influential
people around the globe is the top priority. Combine every carefully thought-out precaution
and an army of defenses and you’ll see how much work goes into protecting President Putin
as he travels. Since security is so important to the man who has experienced numerous assassination
attempts, how exactly does he get around with a bit of peace of mind?
After a breakfast of quail eggs and coffee, and two hours of intense exercise to maintain
his masculine image, Putin is escorted by armed guards, not to his car, but his helicopter.
It is not common for presidents to favor choppers over automobiles, but Putin is an exception,
famously preferring to reach home destinations in Russia in the popular Mi-8 helicopter.
In the spirit of showing up in style, Putin has been photographed sitting in the cockpit
of one of his Mi-8 choppers, which itself lands in the Taynitsky Garden of the Kremlin.
While it is one of the most common helicopters on Earth, having been introduced during the
Cold War and used for decades, Putin’s Mi-8 has its own uniqueness. Featuring large club
chairs, sofa seating, in-flight communications systems, a big TV and all kinds of home appliances
— from refrigerators to coffeemakers, the presidential Mi-8 racks up a price tag exponentially
larger than the base helicopter model, and there are at least two in Putin’s mystery
fleet.
Where there are no helipads, there are roads, and Putin doesn’t compromise on comfort
or security when traveling on four wheels. His presidential limousine is one-of-a-kind
and among the most luxurious and advanced on the planet.
Imagine advanced security and communications features, bullet-proof windows, chilled champagne
comparts and leather seating worth tens of thousands of dollars, all built into an Aurus
Senat, formerly a Mercedes Benz S 600 Guard Pullman, and you’re getting close to the
grandeur of Putin’s road procession.
This new Aurus Senat presidential limousine introduced in 2018, is a product of the project
Putin had personally instigated to design a Russian-built car, rather than relying on
foreign brands such as Mercedes, as he had done previously.
The car gives strong competition to the Beast, America’s Cadillac-branded Presidential
Limousine. To give you an idea of how advanced this vehicle is, it is bomb and bulletproof
from all angles, equipped with a myriad of communication devices and can drive 30 Kilometers
at a speed of 80 kmph in the event that all four of its solid rubber tyres are blown out.
Not to mention the automobile is airlifted to its start destination by equally well-protected
aircraft.
Already background-checked and investigated by the Russian Federal Security Service, the
driver of Putin’s limousine is highly trained and qualified, and getting to such a prestigious
position is an ordeal itself. To have even a meagre chance of being one of the president’s
select ten drivers, the candidate will have to be completely skillful behind the wheel
and work up the ranks, spending a fair period driving escort vehicles.
It takes as long to become a presidential vehicle driver as it does to become a surgeon.
Weekly practices are held, and they encompass training for shooting and driving simultaneously,
protecting the Russian president in the event of an emergency and driving in an explosion
simulator.
Each procession is delicately planned right down to the last detail – what everyone
is wearing, who will be near the Russian president, who has spent time near the vehicle in the
past few days or weeks. Armed guards escort Putin to his vehicle and the area is scouted
for any possible danger before he sets off. It is often rumored that the traffic is banned
from coming anywhere near in order to clear the area, but they are actually just told
to stay well to the right and out of the way.
Although Putin may be spoilt with private drivers and escort vehicles, he isn’t one
to say no to getting behind the wheel. Mere publicity stunts, perhaps, but Putin has been
seen driving a GAZ-21 with George Bush in 2006, a formula 1 race car at speeds near
240 kilometers per hour in 2010, and even a combine harvester in 2011! This footage
from 2019 shows his underwater endeavor in a submersible craft, the Sea Explorer 3, in
Finland. And of course, what would a Russian president be without the classics? Putin has
a taste for old school Soviet cars, which isn’t hard to believe given that he worked
as an agent in the KGB before his political career.
July 2018 was a scenic occasion, with the presidents of both Russia and the United States
meeting in Helsinki. Putin rocked up making a scene with his Russian version of the American
Air Force One, the star figure being his carefully engineered Ilyushin IL-96-300PU airliner.
Starting in the 1990s, modified IL-96s, built in Russia but allegedly using some parts made
in England, have been flown as presidential aircraft.
Putin’s IL-96, or rather, his squad of IL-96s, is an engineering spectacle.
Between the armed guards and high-tech security features, the Ilyushin IL-96 functions as
an airborne office, providing crucial and immediate access to a control panel for the
Russian president. Overseeing the army, corresponding with intelligence and keeping an eye on nuclear
weapons is part of the president’s job description, and the presidential IL-96 suits this purpose
well.
If Putin needs to, he can command troop movements, speak with intelligence and launch nuclear
missiles without stepping foot out of his luxurious cabin - the presidential air fleet
includes an aircraft with equipment for monitoring and controlling Russia’s vast nuclear arsenal.
To add to this, the airplane has an array of computers able to send specially encrypted
messages from any height at any location in the world. This ensures that the Russian president
can communicate quickly with whomever he needs, with almost no chance of anyone but the intended
recipient intercepting the messages. So, if necessary, the Russian president can send
orders to the armed forces or make international calls to foreign agencies while high in the
air.
For safety and security purposes, the presidential IL-96 is intricately designed to withstand
the intense stress of a sudden manoeuvre or emergency landing. It is also speculated that
Putin’s plane has a secret emergency escape capsule, which would allow the Russian president
to escape the aircraft immediately and efficiently if anything went wrong while in the air. However,
the design of this feature is not publicized for obvious reasons.
These well-thought-out measures ensure that there are always backup plans for nearly any
emergency scenario, be it a natural disaster or an attack. Finally, to round this all of
this off, it isn’t known which of the four airplanes Putin will travel in until departure
so that any kind of attack has a seventy-five percent chance of missing the chosen presidential
aircraft.
Putin’s plane features a fully equipped gym and spacious bedroom, and the furniture
is in the neoclassical style, with gold elements and white leather chairs. Putin may have shown
up with a highly advanced presidential airliner with an endless list of modifications, but
the spotlight was stolen by Donald Trump’s Air Force One, which included a conference
room, dining hall, and galley capable of preparing up to two thousand meals.
You’d have thought that the expenses of all the fine dining, lavish interior decorations,
and escort vehicles would be enough, but for Putin, the show is far from over. He may not
use it often, but he likes to impress his friends on the 269-foot superyacht called
Graceful, which has a crew of twenty-four, six luxurious cabins and two VIP staterooms.
------
Whether it’s by land, air or sea, Putin not only loves to travel in style but needs
assurance of absolute control and security over his country. Similar to how you need
control over your internet data and security. Now that you’re bored, locked inside your
houses for weeks, visiting all sorts of weird corners of the internet, you need a good VPN
service to shield your internet activity from hackers, malware, and prying eyes, so that,
whatever you do on the internet remains your personal matter only.
NordVPN is simply your best option in this matter, I tell you why.
NordVPN works in a way that it encrypts all your data coming in and out of your computer
or mobile phone from the internet, thereby making it a lot harder for someone to hack
you or a malicious service to harm you. It basically acts as a personal filter all-around
your internet. Once you’re secure on the internet, NordVPN opens up the unrestricted,
unblocked global internet for you. For example, you can simply connect to Japan and unlock
the Netflix Japan library or connect to Spain and watch exclusive Spanish shows. NordVPN
works on all popular streaming sites to make sure your physical location doesn’t limit
your entertainment. More than 5500 servers in 59 locations around
the world provide you high-quality streaming without lag or buffer.
Most importantly, NordVPN comes at an affordable price of just $3.49 a month and allows you
to connect as many as 6 devices at once. If you use the link in the description - NordVPN.com/sidenote
- you can avail 70% off the 3-year plan + an additional month free. The plan comes with
a 30 days fully refundable policy, so that you may cancel if you don't like the service.
Use the link in the description.