'Noah's Ark'-Putin's elaborate escape plan

It's hardly shocking that Vladimir Putin has contingency plans for his own escape should Russia suffer defeat in the conflict with Ukraine.

Newspapers have reported on several possibilities of where Putin would head; Newsweek reported on the latest theory, which comes from Abbas Gallyamov a political analyst and a former speechwriter for the Kremlin chief.

Abbas Gallyamov shared information from a "trusted source" on his telegram channel on December 6, 2022.

According to Gallyamov's source, it seems that Putin may be considering fleeing to Venezuela if he loses the war. A destination that makes since given the good relationship between Putin and Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

On his Telegram channel, Gallyamov (pictured) wrote, "I usually don't retell insider stories, but today I will make an exception. Firstly, I trust the source too much, and secondly, the information is very juicy."

Photo: Facebook@Abbas Gallyamov

Gallymov says that the unofficial name of the latest plan is "Noah's Ark." Newsweek reported that Gallyamov wrote, "As the name [Noah's Ark] implies, it is about finding new lands where you can go in case it becomes completely uncomfortable in your homeland."

Gallyamov also stated that Yury Kurilin, who is the vice president and chief of staff of Russian energy company Rosneft is the person in charge of making all the necessary arrangements in case Putin needs to flee to Venezuela.

Gallyamove wrote on Telegram that Kurilin resigned from Rosneft in the summer to dedicate himself 100% to the "Noah's Ark" plan.

According to Gallyamov, Kurilin is the ideal candidate for running "Noah's Ark", writing, "He (Kurilin) has American citizenship and good connections. He graduated from Hayward University in California [and] worked in BP structures, including in the high position of director of corporate affairs."

However, Newsweek reported that Yury Kurilin doesn't appear to have resigned from his position at Rosneft, as he still appears listed on sites such as The Wall Street Journal as the company's president and chief of staff.

One thing that is clear is that if Russia loses the war in Ukraine, Putin will have to leave Russia. However, Venezuela and the "Noah's Ark" plan are only one of the supposed plans and destinations Putin might choose if he does need to escape.

Previously, The Dail Mail shared another detailed plan that is in place to help the Russian president if he must flee the country. The source used by The Daily Mail is also a Telegram channel where internal Kremlin information is disseminated.

According to this Telegram channel, Putin has two main ways out of Russia. The Daily Mail also indicated that the plan considers Putin's health issues and involves a highly trusted leader who would take charge of the country in Putin's absence.

According to The Daily Mail the country that could host Putin if he has to flee might be Syria.

Syria is Russia's closest friendly state, and the leader of this dictatorship, Bashar al-Assad, awaits him there, whom Putin helped crucially in the 2015 Civil War.

However, there is a small problem with this escape plan. Any flight Vladimir Putin makes from Russia to Syria would have to go through Turkish airspace, and Turkey is a member of NATO.

In this situation, if the Turkish government denies the Russian plane carrying Vladimir Putin permission to cross its airspace, the escape plan would be seriously compromised.

It would be Recep Tayyip Erdogan who would have the last word, which makes the situation completely unpredictable. In principle, the Turkish leader is in favor of having friendly relations with Russia. Turkey is a fairly 'unique' NATO member after all.

Putin and Erdogan have had as many friendly meetings as disagreements on specific issues. Russian diplomacy would have to work very hard on this escape plan.

If the Syrian plan proves unworkable, according to The Daily Mail, the other option for escape is Iran.

In this case, Putin would neither cross NATO airspace nor land in a country that might have ties to the West.

According to The Daily Mail the Telegram channel states, "In principle, it is beneficial for Iran and Turkey to keep the Russian president in exile in reserve, using him, depending on the situation, as a lever or as a bargaining chip."

The Daily Mail claims that it is common knowledge that Russian Intelligence has already spoken to and negotiated with both Turkey and Iran regarding the details of Putin's escape plan. If things go belly up in Ukraine for Russia, we will soon see how much truth there is to all these rumors.