Vladimir Putin has moved into his office in the Kremlin amid the stress unleashed by his war in Ukraine.
The paranoid leader is believed to have deserted his gymnast lover, Alina Kabaeva, 39, and their young children to live inside Russia’s most famous fortress.
There is speculation he has taken the move to be in the well-guarded Kremlin for security reasons.
Up until now, Putin, 70, lived in his official residence, Novo-Ogaryovo, outside Moscow.
However, recent revelations revealed he also shared a forest palace with his 39-year-old mistress Kabaeva and their children.
Putin regularly uses the official Bocharov Ruchey residence in Sochi on the Black Sea and is also reported to own a separate clifftop £1 billion palace at Gelendzhik, which boasts a pole-dancing boudoir and vineyard.
He admitted to hosting President Xi in his Kremlin apartment during the Chinese leader's state visit last week.
In a TV interview, he said: “I have an apartment here, where I spend a lot of time lately.
“I work here and spend a lot of nights often.”
His spokesman. Dmitry Peskov. made clear Putin’s decision to live close to his Kremlin office was linked directly to the war.
Asked how often Putin lived here, he said: “Very often since the beginning of the [special military operation in Ukraine].
“He uses this apartment as his work schedule is busy.”
He is previously believed to have conducted most of his work away from the Kremlin.
Russian leaders since Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin have not generally lived in the Kremlin.
Lenin occupied a flat here after the 1917 Bolshevik revolution.
Queen Elizabeth II stayed here during her only state visit to Russia in 1994.
Putin’s flat is believed to be in the Senate Palace, designed by the Russian architect Matvey Kazakov between 1776 and 1787.
Though he has not yet officially revealed information about his relationship with Kabaeva or their young family.
This was only revealed by a succession of reports by independent media outlets.
Instead, he insisted: "I have a private life in which I do not permit interference. It must be respected.”
Kabaeva is reported on record saying she had met a man who "I love very much”
She added: "Sometimes you feel so happy that you even feel scared."
The couple has at least two children, born in 2015 and 2019, it is reported.
