Those familiar with Putin know that many times, he is called an all-round president. Because Putin is not only a good player in politics, but also plays taekwondo, judo, skiing, flying airplanes, etc., especially in terms of skill, he is definitely one of the top two presidents.
But if you are good enough, does that mean that there will be no safety problems? The answer is certainly no, especially for presidents, whose security is at the heart of the entire national security effort. In fact, since Putin took office as president, he has suffered several life-and-death crises, but fortunately they have all turned the corner in the end, the most important of which is Putin's bodyguard team, especially Zollotov, who is known as Putin's "first bodyguard".
Zollotov and Putin knew each other
Many people first knew Zollotov not because of Putin, but because of a photograph, a classic photograph taken during the August 19 incident in 1991, when former Soviet President Boris Yeltsin stood on a tank and spoke. In this photo, there is a man in a black suit, standing at the top, his face is serious, his eyes are sharp, very eye-catching. But this man was not yeltsin, the protagonist of his speech at that time, but our protagonist today, Zolotov.
Perhaps many people are most puzzled, why did Putin's personal bodyguard become Yeltsin's bodyguard? Speaking of this connection, we have to mention another person, Putin's "mentor" - Sobchak. In the earliest days, Zolotov was actually Sobchak's bodyguard, and the reason why Zolotov was sent to protect Yeltsin was exactly what Sobchak asked for. Of course, it is also because of Sobchak, Putin and Zollotov got acquainted, and had a fate behind.
It is well known that before Entering Politics, Putin served the KGB, the Former Soviet Union's National Security Council. Coincidentally, Zollotov had the same experience, but the two did not know each other at the time, because Zollotov had retired from the KGB in the 70s, and Zolotov worked in the border guard, while Putin was in East Germany, and the two were far apart, so there was no chance to deal with each other.
Later, after retiring from the KGB, Zolotov worked to protect high-ranking officials, including Sobchak, who served as Sobchak's personal bodyguard for 6 years.
We all know that Sobchak is Putin's "mentor", Putin's Bole, and the leader of the political path. After Putin retired from the KGB, he switched to Sobchak, and it just so happened that Sobchak was already the mayor of St. Petersburg, and Sobchak already admired Putin, so he took Putin under his command. Of course, the main thing is that Putin also has this ability, won the promotion of Sobchak, and after another three years, Putin struggled to the post of deputy mayor on his own.
After being promoted to deputy mayor, Putin naturally reached the rank of being able to be equipped with bodyguards, so during this period, Zolotov became the common bodyguard of Sobchak and Putin.
As mentioned earlier, Putin and Zolotov had the same experience of serving the KGB, which made the two feel close for a moment. In addition, Putin is also a fanatic of taekwondo and judo, and based on this, he likes to consult with Zollotov from time to time. However, although Putin has a good hand, Zolotov, who is more professional than him, is definitely slightly inferior, so during this period, Zolotov is more like a powerful "sparring partner" of Putin. However, due to the occasional confrontation, the two have become increasingly close, and it can be said that Zollotov is not only Putin's bodyguard, but also his good friend.
Unfortunately, this period did not last long, and in 1996, because Sobchak lost the election for mayor of St. Petersburg again and was forced to step down, Putin, as his "own person", naturally went in and out with Sobchak and also retired. However, for Putin, his situation was not too difficult, because he later obtained an official position under Yeltsin at the recommendation of a friend.
On the contrary, Zolotov's life is very sad, because sobchak's downfall means that he no longer has the right to be equipped with bodyguards, which directly led to Zollotov's "layoff". Although Zolotov was also assigned to be the bodyguard of the others, somehow Zolotov shirked. At that time, Putin was only a small position, not yet to the point of being equipped with bodyguards, and he was powerless in the face of Zollotov's dilemma, so in the end Zollotov could only be unemployed and stay home.
Zollotov protected Putin and blocked 8 assassinations in 20 years
But although the two are far apart, Putin has never forgotten Zollotov. In 1999, Putin was promoted to the post of prime minister with outstanding ability. At that time, Putin's first thought was his old friend Zollotov, who immediately brought Zollotov to his side, served as his personal bodyguard, and concurrently served as the captain of the Prime Minister's Guard, and this cooperation was more than 20 years. In 2003, when Putin was promoted to president of Russia, Zollotov continued to follow Putin in his promotion, becoming the president's personal bodyguard and captain of the presidential guard.
For Zollotov, it is indeed an honor to be the president's bodyguard, but what outsiders cannot see is how much pressure he is carrying at the same time. Especially in the years when Putin had just become the president of Russia, it was even more dangerous, according to the ranking of the world's assassination targets published by a US magazine in 2003, of which Russian President Putin ranked second. From this data, it is not difficult to see how much danger Putin faced at that time, and how much danger Putin was, was how much pressure Zollotov was carrying.
As for why Putin's situation is so dangerous? First, after the Second Chechen War, although Russia won the victory, the Chechen rebels hated Putin to the bone, eager to eat his flesh and sleep on his skin. Second, when Putin took office, the internal regime was corrupt, and the groups that were touched on interests were also eager to move Putin, and both sides planned several actions to assassinate Putin.
According to statistics, since Putin became president, he has suffered 8 very dangerous assassinations. One of the most dangerous is that in 2000, Putin attended Sobchak's funeral, because of the relationship with Sobchak's teacher and friend, Putin did not hesitate at all, and decided to personally attend Sobchak's funeral. Of course, this also gives terrorists a great opportunity to hide in the crowd of mourners, waiting for an opportunity to attack Putin's back. Of course, there are many others, such as: the assassination on the eve of the visit to Azerbaijan in 2002; the 40 pounds of explosives buried on the line of Putin's behavior in 2002.
Thankfully, none of these assassinations were successful. In addition to Putin's good luck, Zollotov has done the most. Zollotov's most common words to the guards were: We even check the air the president breathes, which shows how strict he is. Of course, Zollotov is not just talking, in addition to the well-known assassinations, there are many assassinations against Putin that he has secretly handled. Once, when Putin participated in a public event, Zollotov stood by, he keenly noticed that there was a sneaky person in the crowd, and after concluding that the other party was a suspicious person, he immediately ordered that the guards arrest the people and strangle the assassination in the cradle.
In fact, every time President Putin travels, Zolotov will make arrangements in advance, rigorous and thorough, checking roads in advance, blocking traffic, etc., either personally or personally arranging. It is precisely because of Zollotov's thoughtfulness that he has escorted Putin for many years, and this is the main reason why Putin trusts him and reuses him. I have to say that to let Putin say that he will never be bribed, this kind of heartfelt words is an affirmation of Zollotov's work for more than 20 years.
Of course, trust is mutually reinforcing, and Zollotov is trusted by Putin, and Zollotov himself is very loyal to Putin. We all know that Putin is a president with a wide range of interests, in addition to judo and taekwondo, he is also keen on skiing, flying airplanes, etc., and is really an all-round president who can "go to heaven and earth". But Putin is dashing in the end, but his bodyguards, especially the loyal Zolotov. For example, Putin likes skiing, in 2000, he was excited to ski in Sochi, but Zolotov, although he was good at kung fu, really couldn't ski. But what people never expected was that Zolotov was really guarding Putin with his life, forcibly following Putin on a ski, and as a result, he fell and seriously injured himself, and worked with a plaster cast for several months. This incident is laughable, but it is not difficult to see from it that Zollotov's loyalty to Putin, if placed in ancient mainland times, Zolotov is definitely Putin's confidant and self-confident favorite.
Of course, Putin is also full of fists and fists for Zollotov, in 2014, Putin transferred Zollotov to the Ministry of internal affairs to take over the Internal Guard, you know that according to Zollotov's qualifications, the transfer to this post is somewhat lacking. But for Putin, his old friend, who is only two years younger than him, is already 60 years old, and he still has to stand up for himself to block bullets, which is really sad to see, so there is a "power for personal gain." However, Zolotov is not a man without strength, he is only low-key, but he is decisive and quick. So by 2016, Zolotov was transferred to the commander-in-chief of the National Guard, directly responsible to Putin, was awarded the rank of general, and became Putin's right hand.
It has to be said that it is absolutely fortunate that Putin and Zolotov can have such friends as each other, because they are both friends and people who have fulfilled each other.