New RFE/RL report reveals his increasing reliance on a fortified residence in Valdai, where identical offices mask his true location.

An investigation by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) investigative unit Systema has uncovered that Vladimir Putin has not been working from Moscow for years, despite the Kremlin’s repeated claims.

Instead, the Russian president has been governing largely from secretive, heavily defended locations — most notably his secluded residence in Valdai, which is halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The inquiry, based on hundreds of videos, leaked documents, and travel records, reveals that the Kremlin has systematically misled the public about Putin’s whereabouts, using three nearly identical offices to simulate his presence in different parts of Russia: at Novo-Ogaryovo near Moscow, at Bocharov Ruchei in Sochi, and at Valdai.

A carefully crafted illusion

For years, state television broadcasts and Kremlin press releases have located Putin’s meetings at Novo-Ogaryovo, his official suburban residence outside Moscow. But close examination of the footage tells a different story.

By comparing minute details — such as the placement of a door handle, the grain of a wooden desk, or the seam of a wall panel — Systema reporters discovered that many supposed “Moscow meetings” were actually filmed more than 1,500 kilometers away, in Sochi or Valdai.

In one notable case, an October 2020 television interview labeled “Novo-Ogaryovo” had been actually filmed in Sochi. Systema reporters figured it out while realizing that the door handle near Putin’s desk was positioned slightly higher than in the Moscow office, an inconsistency confirmed by construction photos and parquet-flooring records.

The deception is not limited to locations. Many of the videos released by the Kremlin as recent footage were actually filmed weeks or months earlier. In at least five instances this year, meetings dated to April or May were pre-recorded months before they aired.

The Valdai retreat

According to the report, Putin now spends most of his time at his Valdai residence, a secluded compound deep in the forest near a lake, far from major urban centers. Initially built as a holiday retreat, the complex has evolved into a command center, complete with a duplicate of Putin’s office, conference facilities, and — most importantly — extensive air defenses.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Valdai has become Putin’s de facto base. Out of 30 filmed meetings in 2025, Systema found that all but one were recorded there, even though the Kremlin claimed they took place at Novo-Ogaryovo.

More to read:
Assessing Putin’s longevity: How long might the dictator live anyway?

Experts say the shift reflects Putin’s growing obsession with personal security. Novo-Ogaryovo is too close to Moscow and any visible defensive measures around it would attract attention while Bocharov Ruchei is exposed on high ground in Sochi. Valdai offers both isolation and protection, security experts explained to the RFE/RL journalists.

Satellite pictures obtained by Systema shows that at least 12 air defense systems, mostly Pantsir-S1 units, deployed around the Valdai residence in recent months — an unusually heavy concentration for a single site inside Russia.

Behind the secrecy and paranoia

The Kremlin’s use of duplicate offices dates back years but intensified after the COVID-19 pandemic, when Putin began isolating himself physically from almost everyone around him. During 2020–2021, about one-third of his supposed “Moscow meetings” actually took place in Sochi.

More to read:
[video] Putin used sex workers to sideline foes and rise to power

The illusion continued after the invasion of Ukraine.

This pattern of obfuscation is not accidental but systemic. By hiding Putin’s true location, the Kremlin protects him from potential threats — both physical, amid rising Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory, and political, by maintaining the illusion of control from the nation’s capital.

For an autocrat whose image depends on the projection of strength and omnipresence, admitting that he governs from a forested bunker would be politically disastrous. Hence the elaborate effort to preserve appearances.

More to read:
The man who eats alone

Each of Putin’s three offices is an almost exact replica of the others — same dark wooden furniture, same arrangement of flags, same muted decor. Even the thermostat and desk accessories are duplicated, allowing video editors to present any footage as if it were filmed in Moscow.

But as the war drags on and drone attacks reach deeper into Russian territory, the reality behind the identical sets becomes clearer: the Russian president is increasingly isolated, surrounded by layers of deception, and operating from a fortified refuge hundreds of kilometers from the Kremlin.

The Kremlin has offered no explanation for the findings.