The heads of presidential security services often do not appear in public, but their decisions can play a decisive role in a country's political stability. Individuals leading these services are chosen for both their high professionalism and personal loyalty to the head of state.
They are often recruited from intelligence or special forces; selected from individuals who have served the head of state in close proximity for years; and possess significant experience in protection, protocol, and security technologies.
These leaders are responsible not only for physical protection but also for information security, monitoring internal threats, and international security matters.
The heads of presidential security services are custodians of great secrets – they are informed about the personal routines, plans, and even health status of heads of state. Although they cannot make independent decisions, they are considered among the closest individuals to the president. During coups or emergencies, they can acquire significant powers.
The heads of presidential security services have always aroused interest as individuals holding one of the state's most critical posts.
He is one of the very few people who communicate with Russian President Vladimir Putin almost every day. His name does not appear in the news, but he stands among the most influential figures in Russia's top leadership. We are talking about one of the closest individuals in the Russian president's inner circle – the head of the Security Service - Aleksey Rubejnoy, to whom the head of state entrusts his life.
The Modern.az website has attempted to gather information about the head of Vladimir Putin's pguards by researching the Russian press. There is not much extensive and detailed information about Aleksey Rubejnoy in open sources.
Russian media outlets write that Putin does not entrust his life to random people. The position of the head of the President's Security Service holds great strategic importance in Russia: he is one of the president's most trusted individuals.
A.Rubejnoy works in an extremely critical post in terms of responding to Putin's physical security, and internal and external threats against the president. Especially in a state currently at war with Ukraine and, by extension, the West, holding this position is considered a very difficult and responsible task. He holds a position that requires trust on both a professional and personal level.
Russian sources report that Aleksey Rubejnoy skillfully handles his duties and is currently considered Vladimir Putin's most trusted person. Otherwise, he would not have remained the main person responsible for the president's life for 9 years.
Aleksey Rubejnoy was appointed head of the Russian President's Security Service on June 28, 2016. He tirelessly follows Putin everywhere and stands within two meters of him.
The Russian President's Security Service is an institution whose head plays an active role in the head of state's visits, the coordination of intelligence-related matters, and the implementation of personal security strategy - which turns Aleksey Rubejnoy into a strategically important figure in the state's security apparatus.
Aleksey Rubejnoy, who has held the rank of Colonel General since 2018, is a former military officer and professional boxer. He currently also holds the position of Chairman of the Supreme Supervisory Board of the Russian Boxing Federation.
Prior to his role as head of the President's Security Service, Rubejnoy was one of Putin's personal adjutants.
The 61-year-old general was born on March 1, 1964, in Moscow. From December 2015 to May 2016, he served as Deputy Director of the Federal Protective Service of the Russian Federation.
Details of his full educational background and precise career chronology are limited. Putin's Security Service performs functions such as the daily and travel security of the head of state, the protection of his close entourage, and the safeguarding of his residences and workplaces. The activities and operations of this structure are often conducted behind closed doors - which is why public information about its head is rarely provided.
It should be noted that Aleksey Rubejnoy is the 4th person to lead the President's Security Service since 2000. Previously, this position was held by Viktor Zolotov (2000-2013), Oleg Klimentyev (2013-2015), and Dmitry Kochnev (2015-2016).
Aleksey Rubejnoy also served in the “Alfa” special forces unit at one time.
Aleksey Filatov, Vice-President of the “Alfa” Group Veterans Association, considers the current head of the President's Security Service to be the most deserving officer for this position.
"He has served the interests of the Russian state almost his entire adult life, participated in the most complex anti-terrorist operations, and saved the lives of others by risking his own. Aleksey Rubejnoy served in the military system for many years and distinguished himself by overseeing combat operations in the “Alfa” group. He is a very capable officer who can conduct combat operations,”- A.Filatov praised the head of the Russian president's pguards in one of his press statements.
However, Aleksey Rubejnoy, like most officials in Russia, is not “as pure as the driven snow”. His name is also mentioned in some murky affairs.
In recent years, independent journalistic investigations and several foreign sources have written about the business ascensions and excessive enrichment through indirect means of some individuals close to Aleksey Rubejnoy. These writings claim that Rubejnoy used his connections to create extensive opportunities for certain individuals in his circle.
Bodyguards are the only people with round-the-clock access to the president, and thanks to this, they can resolve many business and personnel issues. According to investigations by the Western press, the Presidential Guard in Russia is not immune to corruption, and the head of the Security Service plays a significant role in this. According to some studies, under the leadership of General Aleksey Rubejnoy, Putin's guards have achieved unprecedented “commercial successes”.
Such information has also been circulated about his family members. Russia's "Proyekt" publication writes that Aleksey Rubejnoy's family, who officially earns 5-7 million rubles a year, has to conceal their real income more carefully. The said publication claims that in 2023, Rubejnoy's eldest daughter, Nadezhda, purchased a very spacious house and three large plots of land worth millions of rubles in the elite Semyonovka settlement near Moscow.
In information of this kind, Rubejnoy's wife, Irina, who has never had an official job, is also mentioned, and there is talk of numerous real estate properties registered in her name. For example, despite having zero income in official documents, Irina Rubejnaya purchased a mansion with a very large plot of land in the elite "Western Residence" area near Rublevskoye Highway in 2018, the value of which amounted to 33.9 million rubles.
Aleksey Rubejnoy's name is also mentioned in illegal financial transactions surrounding the Russian Boxing Federation.
Thus, Aleksey Rubejnoy's activities are not limited solely to the framework of security. Opinions regarding his activities are contradictory: one group considers him the architect of an effective security strategy, while others criticize him as a "dark figure" of a rigid and closed system. However, in any case, he remains an important pillar in Vladimir Putin's security structure and attracts attention as one of the most crucial figures in Russian politics.
P.S. Our next material will be about Vladimir Putin's pguards as a continuation of this article.
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