Putin was accompanied by a man in a dark suit holding a briefcase containing the codes needed to authorize a long-range nuclear attack. The mourners walked away from the Cathedral of Christ the Savior as the Russian leader paid tribute to the supranationalist Vladimir Zirinovsky amid fears of an assassination attempt. In the open coffin, Mr. Putin took a bunch of roses and placed them at the bottom of the coffin and then made the sign of the cross. No armed guards were standing by the coffin when he approached to honor him. Mr Putin placed flowers on Mr Zirinovsky’s coffin as he paid his respects (AP) “For Vladimir Putin, the room where people said goodbye to Zirinovsky was completely empty of people – even relatives in chairs,” the Telegram VCHK-OGPU reported. Like the nuclear football carried by US presidential aides, the Russian nuclear briefcase, known as the “cheget”, was designed to be accessible to the president at any time. A similar briefcase is expected to accompany the Minister of Defense and the Chief of General Staff. Vladimir Zhirinovsky was a far-right politician and leader of the supranationalist Liberal Democratic Party. He died by Covid 15 weeks after he had predicted the date of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
