For years, the office in Novo-Ogaryovo functioned as a central point for distributing Kremlin messages, as a place where meetings, online calls and Security Council sessions were held that appeared to be taking place in the Moscow Region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is becoming increasingly difficult to track down. In November, Systema — the Russian investigative unit of Radio Free Europe — revealed that the Kremlin was hiding Putin’s whereabouts and keeping most of his travels secret, using three nearly identical offices in different parts of Russia for meetings. Since then, the Kremlin has not posted any footage or photos from any of the three offices: one outside Moscow, one in Sochi on the Black Sea, and another in a forested compound in Valdai, northwest of the capital.
On March 18, the Kremlin released video of Putin holding a government meeting, which appeared to be online, to mark the 12th anniversary of the seizure of control of the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula. It was unclear which location Putin used for the meeting — the office at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence on the outskirts of Moscow, or one of its replicas. Systema was unable to determine the location based on the footage it had available. As president or prime minister since 1999, Putin has always tried to keep his private life a secret. Systema’s research showed that for a decade or more, the Kremlin has taken various measures to conceal his whereabouts as head of state.
For years, the Novo-Ogaryovo office served as a central point for the Kremlin’s messaging, hosting meetings, online calls, and Security Council sessions that appeared to be taking place in the Moscow Region. In reality, he was often far away. During its 2025 research, Systema discovered that in recent years a large number of cases that appeared to be in Novo-Ogaryovo were actually filmed at the Valdai complex or at the Bocharov Ruhei residence in Sochi, about 1.500 kilometers south of Moscow. Systema came to this conclusion by analyzing, among other things, hundreds of hours of film footage, countless photographs, and a wealth of travel records. Some of the clearest indications that Putin was using three nearly identical offices were discrepancies: a doorknob, a wooden tray, and the pattern on his tie.
From October 7, 2025, to March 18, all three offices had completely disappeared from official Kremlin footage, Systema found. On that date, his 73rd birthday, Putin held a Security Council meeting via video link. Although the Kremlin said Putin was in Novo-Ogaryovo, visual details showed that the meeting was filmed in a replica of his office in Sochi. The Kremlin has never acknowledged the existence of identical offices in different locations and did not respond to Systema’s requests for comment on the matter. But the long hiatus does not mean Putin has disappeared from public view. His administration has continued to release footage of meetings, some in the Kremlin, where he also has offices, as well as footage of trips and other events.
Some of these images were shot and released on the same day. But Systema has noted an increase in the use of pre-recorded footage, or “ready-made” footage, used to create the impression of his continuous appearance. In February, for example, Putin did not appear on camera for more than 10 days, while the Kremlin released old videos that it presented as current. Visual cues, including changes to a plant in the Kremlin office, helped identify the discrepancy. Systema found evidence that in 2025 alone, pre-recorded footage was used at least 18 times.
The use of Kremlin-style offices expanded during the coronavirus pandemic and continued after the Russian president launched his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, allowing him to stay in safer locations. The lack of footage since October creates uncertainty about how much time Putin has spent in any of the three residences and suggests he may be trying to further conceal his whereabouts at certain times.
Systema’s 2025 research found that Putin has preferred to stay at Valdai during the war against Ukraine, now in its fifth year. The Valdai residence is more isolated than Novo-Ogaryovo and Bocharov Ruhei. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Russian Service reported in August that 12 air defense installations had been installed in the area around it, most of them Pantsir-S1 missile systems. In December, Russia claimed that Ukraine used dozens of drones in an attempt to attack the Valdai residence. Ukraine denied the claim, while US President Donald Trump initially said he believed the residence was targeted, but later, citing assessments by US officials, changed his position. (RFE)