Personal security

Putin: 'I asked Fidel Castro how to survive assassination attempts'

The fomer KGB agent spoke to US film director Oliver Stone for an interview to be broadcast later this month.

The Wall Street director told the Kremlin leader he had heard of at least five occasions when he has successfully foiled an attempt on his life, a figure Mr Putin did not dispute. 

Mr Stone added: "Not as much as Castro... I think he must have had 50."

Mr Putin replied: "I talked to Castro about that. 

"And he said to me: 'Do you know why I'm still alive?' Because I always dealt with my security personally'."

The Russian president added: "I do my job and the security officers do theirs, and until now they've ben quite successful.

Castro, who died in November aged 90, is said to have been the subject of more than 600 assassination plots in his lifetime. 

Probably the most famous is the CIA's "exploding cigar" plan  - although whether or not this was a legitimate strategy is still disputed.