Paranoid Putin bans people from wearing watches in the Kremlin as assassination fears soar | World | News

Paranoid Vladimir Putin is insisting that officials summoned to him for one-on-one meetings must surrender their wristwatches.

The dictator evidently fears a James Bond-style assassination bid.

Recent meetings show top functionaries all without watches during audiences with the Kremlin dictator.

The move is seen as a “security measure” amid reports that Putin, 73, fears assassination or a coup from within his regime.

Recently, meetings with Tambov region governor Yevgeny Pervyshov and the Mordovia governor Artyom Zdunov show both men without watches, although they normally wear them.

This suggests a high level of mistrust by Putin for officials he chose and appointed.

“Phones have long been banned, and now watches have been added to the restrictions — both electronic and mechanical,” a source told We Can Explain news outlet.

The measures came into force “in mid-April”.

Sergey Kogogin, head of truck manufacturer KamAZ, was another without his watch in Putin’s presence despite wearing it to a recent meeting with Russian Premier Mikhail Mishustin.

Ex-spy Putin – whose secret services use poisons to liquidate enemies – may fear watches could be used to kill him

In Octopussy, James Bond had a Seiko watch with explosive-related functions.

In Goldeneye, a watch was used as a laser device.

In The Man From U.N.C.L.E. spy watches doubled as detonators or poison devices.

In Kingsman: The Secret Service, agents’ watches contained hidden poison darts/electric shock mechanisms.

Putin, too, has taken to not wearing watches — but evidently forgot to remove his own timepiece when meeting Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov this week.

This was an “awkward slip-up”, according to We Can Explain.

Bizarrely, the Russia dictator spent the whole of the televised part of the meeting holding his left hand over his right wrist to obscure the face of his watch.

The stricter rules do not apply to Putin’s closest cronies.

Head of Rostec defence conglomerate, Sergey Chemezov, 73, like Putin a former KGB spy and a friend for four decades, wore his watch in a one-to-one session.

The new watch rule is a “security requirement” like the veto on phones, tablets and laptops, the outlet was told, according to Point Media.

Another explanation maybe that Putin’s meetings are often “canned” – or pre-recorded – and the Kremlin wants to obscure the time and perhaps date when they were recorded.

For a similar reason, the metadata from photos and videos of Putin is stripped off.

The strange new watch curb comes as the Kremlin admitted its secret services are tightening security for Vladimir Putin amid fears for his life.

An unnamed European spy agency indicated that fear of a coup – possibly linked to former defence minister Sergei Shoigu – was the main reason for the security clampdown.

The Kremlin admitted this week that security has been massively increased around the Kremlin dictator who has abandoned his favourite palaces, fearing they could be targets of drone strikes—by his own entourage.

“Since the beginning of March 2026, the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin have been concerned about a leak of sensitive information and, at the same time, about the risk of a plot or coup attempt against the Russian president,” said the report from Important Stories.

“In particular, he fears the use of drones for a possible assassination attempt by members of the Russian political elite.”

In another strange move, the Kremlin cancelled Western media accreditation for Putin’s Victory Day parade on Red Square on Saturday.