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[li]Valery Solovey, 61, is a political scientist and former professor in Moscow[/li][li]He claims Putin has sent his family to a nuclear bunker in the Altai Mountains[/li][li]He recently underwent an interrogation for claims he made about Putin[/li][li]Solovey believes Putin is struggling with physical and mental illnesses[/li][/ul]
Vladimir Putin has in recent days hidden his family members in an ‘underground city’ in Siberia, according to a Russian professor.
The luxury hi-tech bunker is located in the Altai Mountains and was designed for protection in the event of nuclear war, said political scientist Valery Solovey, 61.
Formerly a professor at Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) - attended by future top diplomats and spies, Solovey has previously alleged Putin suffers medical problems hidden from the Russian public, and has taken part in bizarre secret shamanic rituals alongside his defence minister Sergey Shoigu.
Some in Moscow dismiss Solovey as a conspiracy theorist or hoaxer, but just last week he was interrogated for seven hours by Russian authorities due to allegations he made about Putin’s medical and mental condition on a Telegram site he operates.
His home was also searched and multiple electronic items were seized. Solovey was subsequently released but the case is not closed.
The claim comes as Russia pounds Kyiv and Kharkiv with missile strikes, leading to accusations that Putin is committing war crimes by deploying devastating cluster bombs on helpless civilians.
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Solovey alleges that Putin’s family have been moved to a huge underground bunker buried in the Altai Mountains (Altayskoye Podvorie resort pictured)
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‘At the weekend, President Putin’s family was evacuated to a special bunker prepared in case of nuclear war,’ said the professor in a video. 'This bunker is located in the [mountainous] Altai Republic. ‘In fact, it is not a bunker, but a whole underground city, equipped with the latest science and technology.’ (Altai mountains pictured)
He warned: ‘I hope this means something to you? That the President sends his family to this bunker?’
Solovey, who claims to have insider contacts in the Kremlin, is believed to be referring to a sprawling mountain dacha built ostensibly 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.
Observers have noted 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.
During construction, vast German tunnel diggers were reported to have been at the site.
Solovey did not identify the family members of Putin supposedly sent to the bunker, but has previously alleged that Olympic Gold-winning rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, 38, is the Russian leader’s secret spouse.
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Solovey did not identify the family members of Putin supposedly sent to the bunker, but has previously alleged that Olympic Gold-winning rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, 38, is the Russian leader’s secret spouse (undated photo of Putin and Kabaeva at the Kremlin)
Putin has two adult daughters Maria Vorontsova, 36, a geneticist, and Katerina Tikhonova, 35, a dancer-turned-mathematician.
He is also reported to have a daughter named Luiza Rozova, a 18-year-old heiress also known as Elizaveta Krivonogikh, from a previous relationship with cleaner-turned-multimillionaire Svetlana Krivonogikh, 45, now a part-owner of a major Russian bank.
Unconfirmed rumours denied by the Kremlin say he also has children with Kabaeva.
Putin has previously said: ‘I have a private life in which I do not permit interference. It must be respected.’
He deplored ‘those who with their snotty noses and erotic fantasies prowl into others’ lives’.
Kabaeva is on record as saying she had met an unnamed man who ‘I love very much’, gushing: ‘Sometimes you feel so happy that you even feel scared.’
The claimed move of his family to the bunker came with a ‘failure’ of Putin’s strategic plan to conquer Ukraine, said Solovey.