He broke every previous isolation record, completing 196 days without setting foot in the Russian province. His abstinence from the Russian regions went beyond even the dark days of the pandemic.
After his recent trip to China, the Russian president hastily returned to Moscow, confirming reports from Western intelligence agencies that he is running the country from bunkers, terrified of Ukrainian threats to his personal security. , such long periods of abstinence had not been recorded even during the pandemic.
The details of isolation
Putin’s last visit to a Russian region (other than the areas where his main presidential residences are located) was a one-day trip to Samara on November 6, 2025.
At the same time, the Russian leader made an equally long pause in his travels abroad. Before his recent trip to China, his last international tour was on December 11 and 12 in Turkmenistan, making his absence from international visits 158 days.
Since then, Putin has made few public appearances, which have been confined solely to the Moscow region or St. Petersburg:
- Christmas at GRU headquarters: Putin’s first public appearance of 2026 was a secret visit to a GRU military base temple at Christmas. Contrary to what is customary, the Kremlin did not officially announce where the president celebrated. However, “Agentstvo” found that Putin attended the Christmas service at the Church of St. George the Trophy-bearer, inside the “Senezh” Special Operations Center (military unit 92154) on the outskirts of Moscow.
- January in Saint Petersburg: On January 23, 2026, Putin met MFTI students in Dolgoprudny. Two days later, he went to St. Petersburg to lay a wreath at Piskarivskoye Cemetery, on the occasion of the anniversary of the end of the siege of Leningrad. For the first time, the event was held without an audience, although citizens were usually present.
- Blockade in the Kremlin: From late January to late April, almost all of Putin’s activities took place inside the Kremlin or at his residence in Novo-Ogarevo.
- April with the “scent” of polls: On April 27, amid reports of a drop in his popularity ratings, Putin traveled to St. Petersburg again. There he visited the sports school named after his judo coach, Anatoly Rakhlin, and kissed one of the students on the forehead. This visit to St. Petersburg was also his last trip outside the Moscow region before moving to China.
What was true in the past
The longest period in which Putin had not officially left the areas of his primary residences was recorded during the pandemic. But even then, the president spent less time in solitary confinement.
The maximum interval between his trips in 2020 was 132 days. After visiting the coronavirus reference hospital in Komunarka in February 2020, he made his next move only on June 30, for the unveiling of a monument near Rzhev.
- Before the invasion: Another long period without movement occurred in the months leading up to the start of the war in Ukraine. After a visit to India in early December 2021, Putin did not leave his residential areas for 60 days, until February 4, 2022, when he began his visit to China.
- The years of normality: Before the pandemic and the full-scale war in Ukraine, Putin didn’t go more than 45 days without traveling. After the invasion began, the maximum period without visits was 50 days, the time between his trip to Torzhok and his visit to China in 2024.
- The tradition of China: In the past, Putin’s trips to China were often combined with a stop in some Russian region. After his visit in September 2025, he stopped in Vladivostok and Ruski Island. In October 2023, he visited Perm and the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don. However, there were exceptions, such as in May 2024 and February 2022, where it returned directly without intermediate stations.
The cause of extinction
In late 2025, Russian authorities reported that Ukraine attempted to strike Putin’s presidential residence in Valdai. Although world leaders, including Donald Trump, have questioned the validity of these claims, a source of the Proekt network close to the Kremlin says that the Russian president was seriously worried about his safety.
In early May, Western intelligence agencies leaked to the media that Putin has stopped visiting Valdai, is now working in armored bunkers, and the presidential guard (FSO) has dramatically increased his protection measures.
