Is Putin hiding in Siberian bunker? Russian prez's family reportedly in lavish nuke-proof refuge
According to Valeryy Solovey, a renowned political scientist who has worked as a professor in Moscow, Russian president Vladimir Putin has allegedly moved his family into a nuclear bunker in the Siberian Altai Mountains. Solovey, 61, said that the luxury hi-tech bunker was located high up in the Altai Mountains in Siberia and was specifically designed as a shelter in the event of a nuclear war.
Solovey is a former professor at Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). Solovey previously alleged that the Russian president suffers from medical problems that he does not disclose to the Russian people. He also claimed that Putin had taken part in secret shamanic rituals with his defence minister Sergey Shoigu.
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Solovey has been dismissed by many of his peers in Moscow, according to whom Solovey is just a conspiracy theorist and hoaxer spreading ridiculous lies. Solovey had allegedly been interrogated for seven hours by Russian authorities after he made certain claims about Putin's medical and mental condition on a Telegram account he operates.
Solovey's residence was also searched and many of his devices seized. The former professor was later released but the case remains open and under investigation. Solovey made his latest claim amidst Russia's missile strikes against Kyiv and Kharkiv, leading to accusations that Putin is committing war crimes by deploying cluster bombs on civilians.
"At the weekend, President Putin's family was evacuated to a special bunker prepared in case of nuclear war. This bunker is located in the Altai Republic. In fact, it is not a bunker, but a whole underground city, equipped with the latest science and technology. I hope this means something to you? That the President sends his family to this bunker?" the professor said in a video where he made his claims about Putin's whereabouts.
Solovey also alleged that he got this info from his contacts inside the Kremlin. People believe that the site he is talking about is a sprawling mountain dacha built by energy behemoth Gazprom around a decade ago in the Ongudaysky district of the Altai Republic, a region of Siberia bordering Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan.
Eagle-eyed observers have spotted multiple ventilation points in the grounds surrounding the mountain hideout, and a high voltage line linked to an ultra-modern 110-kilovolt substation -- enough to power a small city. German tunnel engineers had been present on site during the construction of the structure.
In his video, Solovey did not mention about which members of Putin's family were staying in the bunker. However, the former professor earlier claimed that Olympic Gold-winning rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, 38, is the Russian leader's secret spouse. "This is his real family, and Alina is capable of influencing his decisions," he said last year.