Special train of the Kremlin leader. Beauty salon, gym and hammam – Putin travels in luxury

Russian President Vladimir Putin prefers his special train as a means of travel. As leaked documents now show, it has, among other things, a Turkish bath – and a ventilator.

Kremlin leader likes to travel by train: Vladimir Putin is known to prefer trains to planes. Now internal leaked documents offer insight into the travel habits of Russian presidents.

Until now, people only knew about Putin’s special train from the outside, but now the London Document Center, the research office of Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, has released pictures and plans from inside the special train. According to the documents, the train was renovated at a cost of 6.8 million rubles, apart from a gym and a beauty salon, it should now also have a Turkish bath called a hammam.

Between ventilator and skin rejuvenation

In addition to weights and equipment, a fitness studio should have a weight bench, a step platform, and an exercise mat. The beauty salon is said to be nearby, and has special equipment for skin rejuvenation using high-frequency waves or vacuum cleaners, as well as medical equipment such as a defibrillator, respiratory suction device or ventilator. As before Members of the Presidential Security Council Gleb Karakulov In late April, Putin is known to be very concerned about his health.

Agency for Special Railway Claims

But where do the documents come from? German news magazine “Spiegel” According to them they belong to Zircon Service Company. It was started in 1994 by the employees of the Department of Space. The company went from a supplier of laboratory wagons to a specialist for individual railway requests – including those of Kremlin boss Putin.

The Document Center evaluated the documents together with a panel of international media including CNN and Süddeutsche Zeitung. There is a summary Common ground to find out.

Also work weekends and public holidays

In March 2017, the head of Russian Railways, Oleg Belosherov, reportedly personally commissioned the construction of the train. Belosherov and his representatives are also responsible for the progress of the work.

The workers are reported to work in three shifts, sometimes seven days a week, even on public holidays.

Three locomotives pull the special train

Three locomotives pull the train when it breaks down. Only the communication antennas, attached to the roofs, indicate the special nature of the wagons. From the outside, Putin’s means of transportation are unremarkable compared to “normal” trains, which are painted red and gray.

Of course, you can’t see the armored walls. According to the documents, they should protect against Kalashnikov assault rifles and sniper rifles even at sub-zero temperatures. At least this applies to areas of security and defense personnel. The documents do not reveal the extent to which Putin’s personal units are protected.