Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, lives in an “information vacuum” by avoiding the use of cellphones or the internet for information gathering, per a former Russian intelligence officer that defected to the West. Gleb Karakulov, a former engineer and captain from the Presidential Communications Directorate of the Federal Guard Service, revealed he accompanied Putin on over 180 trips, often encrypting his communications. After accompanying the Russian leader in October 2020 to Kazakhstan, Karakulov and his family flew to Turkey and became the highest-ranking defector in Russia’s recent history.
In a shocking interview with the Dossier Center for Investigative Journalism funded by exiled Russian businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Karakulov disclosed that during his service he noticed Putin never used a mobile phone or the web. He instead opted to receive information from his close entourage and state TV news channels. Karakulov experienced tension throughout the relationship as he increasingly saw Putin’s lack of contact with the outer world, and his “pathological fear of his life.” This fear pushed Karakulov to finally leave the country and claim ostentation that Putin is a “war criminal.”
The International Criminal Court agreed with Karakulov and issued an arrest warrant for Putin in May 2021 due to his illegal deportation of children in Ukraine.
The Dossier Center is an investigative journalism centre founded by exiled Russian opposition figure Dmitry Gudkov and funded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky. It has become an invaluable source of video, audio and documents on the dealings of the Russian government that have helped to expose organized crime, human rights abuses and potential acts of money laundering.
Gleb Karakulov is a Russian intelligence officer and prominent whistleblower. Karakulov served as engineer and captain in the Presidential Communications Directorate of the Federal Guard Service and accompanying Russian leader Vladimir Putin on his trips. After travelling to Kazakhstan in 2020, he left Russia with his family and has since become the highest-ranking intelligence officer to defect the West in Russia’s recent history. In the interview, Karakulov disclosed how Putin operates and life in the inner circle. He later went on to eventually expose Putin as a “war criminal” and provided valuable information to the International Criminal Court warrant.
