Trapped in Moscow? Putin is said to no longer let top people abroad

Russia is isolating itself on the world stage with the Ukraine war.

But even Russia's elites are now being sealed off.

Officials report travel restrictions.

Moscow - Is there no escape from Moscow?

At least for the Russian elites, who loved to travel abroad before the start of the Ukraine war, that seems to be the case.

The

reports .

According to the independent publication, there are now strict restrictions on travel abroad for politicians and managers in state-owned companies.

The reason is, on the one hand, the fear that people will go abroad and possibly cooperate with other countries.

On the other hand, the Kremlin wants to keep its elites as far outside the sphere of influence of foreign secret services as possible.

In its report, the online newspaper refers to ten former and active Russian officials.

Trapped in Moscow: officials lose foreign passports

A senior official told the

: "No one is allowed to move anywhere without first obtaining personal permission." Gennady Gudkov agrees that there are measures in place "to prevent officials from defecting".

Gudkov was once a Duma deputy and, like Russian President Vladimir Putin, a member of the Soviet secret service, the KGB.

But how are the travel restrictions enforced?

One method is allegedly confiscating any foreign passports held by officials.

In addition, the Russian secret service has a database of all officials who need permission to leave the country: "The database has so-called checkboxes.

In order to leave Moscow, they must be fulfilled in advance.”

Resentment in Russia: Putin supposedly decides who goes and who stays

reports that the Kremlin's personnel policy means

that the president himself has to make decisions about his officials' trips: "Despite the ongoing conflict, Putin sometimes has to look at all the lists himself and plan who is going where and why." .

The reason for this is that each superior and their superior must give permission so that the person willing to travel can ultimately leave the country.

The

informants are certain: The decision to impose the strict restrictions on civil servants came from high up in the Kremlin: "It was Putin, the FSB and some from the Security Council," says one official.

Russia's elite trapped in Moscow?

"It's very annoying"

From a certain position in the Duma or in a state company there are no exceptions.

For this reason, extremely important personalities in Putin's system are said to have been denied travel at the airport in Moscow.

"It's very annoying," said a Russian official.

However, there are fears that the restrictions will be tightened.

The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, had urged politicians to completely ban foreign travel during the "special operation".

According to the Kremlin, such proposals are known but are not currently being considered.