Russian President Vladimir Putin has heavy measures to keep him safe from assassination attempts. The New York Post reported on all the precautions the dictator takes. “Bodyguards with bulletproof briefcases and high-powered pistols, look-alike stand-ins and food tasters are just some of the ways” he evades would-be assassins and coup plots.

As the whole world watches Putin’s deep dive straight into war, the topic of assassination has been brought up, even by U.S. lawmakers. Last week Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) alluded to having “somebody in Russia to take this guy out.”

Putin, a former KGB agent, has been protecting himself since 2000 and is reportedly “obsessed with both his security and his health.” He allegedly was neurotic about avoiding catching COVID-19.

The New York Post reports:

Recent photos show him meeting with world leaders and even his own advisers at opposite ends of extremely long tables to maintain at least 20 feet of distance between them, and he donned a hazmat suit — complete with a full face respirator — before visiting a Moscow hospital treating coronavirus patients in April 2020.

Putin’s bodyguards — who call themselves his “Musketeers” — comprise a special unit within Russia’s Federal Protective Service, or FSO, which traces its roots to 1881, when Czar Alexander III surrounded himself with guards following the assassination of his father by a bomb-throwing revolutionary, according to The Economist.

Additionally, those who protect Putin are hand selected for their skills which include “operational psychology,” physical stamina and the ability to withstand cold and not sweat in heat.

The bodyguards must also be young, and have to be replaced upon turning 35-years-old. Their reward is they “can be rewarded with powerful new posts as regional governors, federal ministers, special services commanders and presidential administrators.”

Whenever he travels, “wherever he’s going to stay gets inspected, jamming devices are installed to prevent remote detonation of bombs and technicians conduct electronic surveillance of cellphones and other devices in the area.”

Then when in the public, four rings of security surround him, “starting with his personal bodyguards, others hidden amid the crowd, still more ringing the perimeter and snipers perched on the surrounding rooftops.”

The Post adds “they’re reportedly outfitted with special briefcases that serve as shields to protect Putin and carry Russian-made, 9 mm SR-1 Vektor pistols loaded with armor-piercing bullets.”

He also rides surrounded by a convoy of heavily armored vans that carry military special operators armed with AK-47s, anti-tank grenade launchers and portable anti-aircraft missiles.