Mystery of Putin's red box in his car on Valaam Island unveiled

A red box in Putin's car during his trip to the island of Valaam has attracted a lot of attention of the media. The mystery of Putin's red box was unveiled by the head of the press service of Patriarch Kirill, Alexander Volkov.

Photo: Source: Kremlin.ru

According to him, the president himself was the driver. An officer of the Security Service of the President was sitting on the backseat. The officer was holding the red box in his hands. There was an icon inside the box, Volkov said.

"It just so happened that I myself was holding the box for ten minutes, and I can tell you that it was a heavy icon, and it was unlikely that the president would be carrying the box to take it to the temple," Patriarch's press secretary wrote on his page.

Alexander Volkov denied the rumors that President Putin gave the Valaam Monastery a "luxury snow-white yacht," adding that the Department of Presidential Affairs had delivered possession of the "Pallada" yacht to the Church many years ago. The patriarch, the press secretary added, occasionally uses the yacht for short trips, although the yacht is docked at the pier most of the time.

Alexander Volkov also commented on the reports, according to which the president supposedly forced the patriarch "take his hands off him." According to Volkov, having left the altar of the lower church, the president and the patriarch headed to the car.

"They had to decide for themselves what seats they will take, because the driver's seat was already taken. It just so happened that they both wanted to take the left seat in the back. As long as the Patriarch was the owner of the vehicle, he took the president by his arm offering him to sit on the right, but the president asked the patriarch to sit there and headed to the left seat in the back," Alexander Volkov said.

The press secretary of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia reiterated that there were no secrets or mysteries about Putin's visit to Valaam island.

President Vladimir Putin paid a visit to the island of Valaam on July 11-13. The photos that were taken during the trip to the island triggered heated discussions on the Internet. The Valaam archipelago is located in the northern part of Lake Ladoga, within the Republic of Karelia, Russia.

Pravda.Ru

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