In 1991, on the eve of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian President Boris Yeltsin refused to carry out the orders of the "State of Emergency Committee" of the former Soviet Union, calling on the Russian people to hold strike protests.
Yeltsin stood on the tank with the support of his supporters to give a speech, and the person standing at the top of the tank was not Yeltsin, but a man named Victor Zolotov.
Top of Zolotov's black suit
This person is the protagonist of today's story, the first bodyguard of President Putin' side, what kind of story does he have with President Putin, and how did he become Putin's personal bodyguard?
Similar origins, different destinies
Born in 1954 in Ryazan Oblast, Russia, Zollotov was two years younger than Putin, and perhaps by fate, Zollotov had a similar experience with Putin.
Zollotov
Both had gone to work for the KGB, but their fates were very different.
One becomes the supreme leader of a country, while the other becomes the most trusted bodyguard at the side of the supreme leader.
Zollotov was selected by the KGB after he was discharged from the army, and his main job was to protect high-level people, and Zolotov's main object of protection at that time was Putin's mentor, Sobchak.
Sobchak
As one of Yeltsin's supporters, Sobchak's protection of Yeltsin's safety was also a top priority when Yeltsin gave a speech, so there was the scene where Zolotov stood on a tank.
While Zollotov was responsible for Sobchak's security, Putin was still working as a secret agent in East Germany until 1990, when East Germany and West Germany merged, and Putin returned to Russia.
Back in Russia, Putin chose to go to St. Petersburg to join his mentor Sobchak, and Sobchak also attached great importance to Putin's personal ability, so he left Putin by his side and began to cultivate Putin's ability to engage in politics.
Sobchak (left) Putin (right)
It was also during this time that Putin formed a deep friendship with Zollotov, Sobchak's bodyguard, and Putin, with the help of his mentor Sobchak, began to slowly show his ability to govern, and soon became the first deputy mayor of St. Petersburg.
Putin was now Sobchak's right-hand man, and his safety was also important to Sobchak, so while protecting Sobchak, Zolotov also annexed and protected Putin.
During this period, Zolotov also became a sparring partner for Putin's judo and boxing, and the two were of similar age and the same origins in the KGB, making the two friends who talked about everything.
Putin and Zolotov
In 1996, after Sobchak's unsuccessful bid for the post of mayor of St. Petersburg, Putin also resigned from St. Petersburg and chose to advance and retreat with his mentor.
After the defeat of the campaign, Sobchak became an ordinary civilian, supposedly unable to be equipped with bodyguards, but Zolotov did not go anywhere, always accompanied Sobchak, and always protected Sobchak's safety.
Putin, on the other hand, traveled to Moscow on Theux's recommendation and was appointed deputy director of the Presidential Affairs Administration by Yeltsin.
Shortly after Putin took office in Moscow, his mentor Sobchak was critically ill, and after helping his mentor go to Paris for treatment, Zollotov's bodyguard could not follow him to Paris, and Zolotov was facing the risk of his career at the moment.
At a time when Zollotov needed help the most, Putin was in Moscow, but his position was not yet qualified as a bodyguard.
The small-minded Putin did not have a good way to help Zollotov, so he had no choice but to work for a private security company.
Walk in the clouds, do not forget the old friends
As Putin's mentor, Sobchak was originally a supporter of Yeltsin, but in the later period, the contradictions between the two deepened, but Putin's help to the teacher go to Paris for treatment did not make Yeltsin unhappy, but he was very appreciative of the quality of Putin's zhientu newspaper.
Yeltsin
Under Yeltsin's cultivation, Putin did not disappoint Yeltsin, and under Putin's excellent ability, he was continuously promoted in Moscow, and in 1998, Yeltsin hand-picked Putin as the chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
But Putin's path to promotion has only just begun, and after serving as the first deputy prime minister and acting prime minister of the Russian Federation, Putin took up the position of Russian prime minister in 1999.
At this time, Putin already had a pivotal position in the Russian Federation, and he never forgot his good friend Zollotov, who was also a friend of his.
Putin is in office
On December 31, 1999, former Russian President Boris Yeltsin officially announced his resignation, and Putin took over Yeltsin's presidency in the face of public attention.
At this time, Russia was worried about internal and external troubles, external, the Western European Union and NATO were looking at the tiger; internal Chechnya rebelled, and political chaos was unbearable.
In this situation, Putin, who took over the banner of Russia, recalled Zollotov at the first time in the principle of using familiarity and not life, and appointed him as the captain of the prime minister's guard, becoming the most trusted personal bodyguard around Putin.
Putin, who is the president of Russia, quickly let the world see his iron fist in politics.
Militarily, with a tough posture to sweep away the domestic rebellion, economically vigorously promote energy trading, greatly alleviated Russia's domestic economy, domestic politics, he doubted people, employ people, and quickly stabilized the domestic situation.
In the international situation, Putin has been moderate in the face of the United States and Europe and other countries, and has won more breathing opportunities for the crumbling Russia.
Putin
And Putin has become the spiritual leader of the Russian people.
And these are situations that the Western countries do not want to see, you know, it took the Western countries decades to crush the Soviet Union, the behemoth, and the disintegrated Soviet Union is the biggest threat from Russia to the Western countries.
Originally, under Yeltsin's leadership, Russia has reached an embarrassing situation of internal and external troubles, but with Putin's rise to power, the world has seen his tough measures, and even let Russia have the momentum to restore its former glory, which western countries do not want to see.
Therefore, the assassination of President Putin appeared one after another, and putin ranked second in the world assassination threat index, which shows that Putin's personal safety is greatly threatened.
Do your duty and be fierce
In two years, from 2000 to 2002, since Putin took office as president, there have been as many as three official assassinations of Putin.
You must know that this is the leader of a country, let alone 3 cases, that is, one is a major event of the whole country.
This is a great test for Zollotov, the number one bodyguard at Putin's side.
In 2000, early in Putin's presidency, when his mentor Sobchak died and Putin went to St. Petersburg for a funeral, Chechen rebels launched the first assassination of Putin.
Several Assassins pulled out pistols behind Putin and tried to assassinate Putin in the back, but fortunately Zollotov found out in time and killed several Assassins in the case of a bullet in his body, successfully saving Putin.
Putin and Zolotov (wearing sunglasses on the right)
In 2001, Putin went to pay tribute to the families of Russian soldiers who died in the war in Chechnya, and several assassins in jeeps launched a suicide attack on Putin and his party, while Zollotov killed three assassins with accurate marksmanship and cooperated with the escort team to capture two assassins to resolve the crisis.
In 2003, while Putin was attending a public event, two Ukrainian assassins hiding in the crowd were looking for an opportunity to assassinate Putin.
Zollotov had been observing the suspicious people in the crowd, and soon he found two suspicious people lurking in the crowd, and quickly subdued the two people, and found two pistols with real guns on them.
If Zollotov had not discovered it in time, the threat posed by two real-fire assassins to Putin and Russian civilians would be unimaginable.
In 2007, Putin visited abroad, and in Iran, several terrorists launched suicide attacks on Putin...
In 2008, during the Russian election, a number of armed reactionaries from the opposition broke into the Kremlin with guns and assassinated Putin...
Every assassination was thrilling, but each time Zollotov was able to protect Putin and turn him away.
In Russia's official assassination data, as many as 8 such assassination attacks have been launched, but many more have been snuffed out in the cradle by the Russian intelligence system and Zollotov's escort.
As Putin's personal bodyguard, Zolotov will try to minimize Putin's danger factor as much as possible.
Every time Putin is arranged to travel, Zollotov will eliminate all possible dangers in the itinerary in advance, and it is also Zolotov's performance of due diligence that Putin will trust Zolotov so much.
And Zollotov is the real iron shield around Putin, an iron shield that no one can overcome.
To achieve this, Zolotov needs not only tough force, but also a clear mind, the prevention of possible situations, and the investigation of putin's places need to be carefully examined by Zolotov himself.
"The air the president breathes is carefully checked."
This slogan put forward by Zollotov in the Presidential Guard, which minimizes Putin's risk factor, is what Zollotov needs to do.
As we all know, Putin's hobbies are very extensive, judo, swimming, skiing, etc., although it is common for people to have hobbies, but this can make Zollotov under great pressure, because every time Putin goes out, Zolotov needs close protection and checks in advance.
Once, Putin thought of skiing in Sochi, and although Zollotov had already carried out a very meticulous investigation and made a lot of preparations in advance before going there, Zolotov also followed Putin on a sleigh when Putin skied.
But Zollotov's skiing skills are obviously inferior to Putin's, and during this skiing, Zolotov was injured in the leg and recuperated for several months.
And this is why Putin says that Zollotov will always be trustworthy and will never betray Putin.
Throw yourself in the towel and sing in return
But as Zollotov grew older, Putin did not want to see his friends still fighting on the front line to protect himself, so Putin transferred Zollotov from the front of the stage to the back of the scenes, and Zolotov was appointed by Putin as deputy commander of the Internal Guard.
Later, the Russian National Guard was formed, the Russian Guards, and Putin gave the supreme power of this army to Zollotov and gave Zolotov the rank of grand general.
This is an army of 340,000 people, and a personal bodyguard sits in this position, which shows how much Putin trusts him.
Although many people in China have expressed dissatisfaction with this, Putin still supports Zollotov, not only for Zollotov's 17 years of close protection, but also for the trust in Zollotov's ability.
Although from the front of the stage to the backstage, Zolotov still put Putin's personal safety in the first place, Zolotov carefully cultivated a guard of more than a hundred people, and the daily training content has only one purpose, to protect President Putin at all costs, even if the price is to pay for his life!
Under the wall of danger, Putin's life is related not only to him personally, but also to the national fortunes of the whole Of Russia.
Zollotov also deeply understands this truth, so Zollotov has always been meticulous in dealing with Putin's security work.
Today, Zolotov has become the commander of 340,000 troops, but he has been protecting the future of a country with his life.
The president and the bodyguards, their stories, go on.