The Kremlin tightens security around Putin amid fears of internal coup

Monday 04 - 08:00

By: Dakir Madiha

The Kremlin tightens security around Putin amid fears of internal coup

Russia has significantly intensified security measures around President Vladimir Putin following reports that Western intelligence agencies warned of growing risks of an internal coup or targeted assassination within Russian political circles. According to a European intelligence assessment cited by CNN and the Financial Times, key protections around the president have been expanded since March 2026, including strict controls over his entourage, his living spaces and even his public appearances. The report portrays a leader who is now guarded by a multilayered security apparatus, with particular concern about the possibility of a strike executed or assisted by elements within the Russian elite.

Under the new security regime, close aides and staff attached to Putin’s household, including chefs, bodyguards and photographers, are reportedly barred from using public transport and are limited to offline or tightly controlled phones that cannot access the internet. Authorities have installed surveillance systems inside the homes of senior Kremlin figures and subjected all visitors to the president to double‑layered screening before entry. Putin has also stopped using his regular residences near Moscow and at Valdai, his secluded summer retreat between Saint Petersburg and the capital, and has not visited a single military base this year, a marked break with the routine of 2025 when he regularly toured such facilities. To fill the gap in his public schedule, the Kremlin has repeatedly broadcast pre‑recorded clips rather than live footage, a pattern that investigative outlet Sistema documented in multiple cases over the course of 2025 and into early 2026.

Intelligence analysts attribute part of this tightening to the assassination of General Fanil Sarvarov, a senior army‑corps commander who was killed by a car‑bomb explosion in Moscow in December 2025, an attack allegedly carried out by Ukrainian agents. Days later, Putin convened a highly tense meeting with top security chiefs, during which senior officials reportedly clashed over lapses in the protection of high‑ranking officials. The session ended with Putin calling for concrete changes within a week, expanding the mandate of his Federal Protective Service and adding ten senior commanders to the list of personnel directly responsible for his security. Since March, Putin has become especially cautious about the use of drones as a potential assassination tool, with the intelligence assessment warning that some in the Russian political establishment might seek to exploit such technology.

Satellite imagery examined by Radio Svoboda shows that Putin’s Valdai estate has been transformed into a heavily fortified site, with 27 additional towers equipped with Pantsir‑style air‑defense systems. Seven of these towers were built in an emergency construction push launched in mid‑March 2026, highlighting the urgency with which Moscow is upgrading physical defenses. The restrictions on mobile internet in central Moscow, which lasted for nearly three weeks in March, were officially framed by the Kremlin as a temporary measure to guard against “terrorist attacks,” but external observers link the blackout to the president’s heightened fear of an internal plot, including schemes involving biochemical materials or explosives. The head of the Kremlin press office, Dmitry Peskov, acknowledged that the security environment is tense and insisted that all measures are aimed at reducing risk in the face of long‑range Ukrainian strikes. However, the intelligence document paints a broader picture of a leader whose sense of vulnerability focuses not only on Kyiv but also on potential rivals inside the very circles that have long supported his rule.