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Vladimir Putin Quotes
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Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is the current President of Russia, holding the office since 7 May 2012. He was Prime Minister from 1999 to 2000, President from 2000 to 2008, and again Prime Minister from 2008 to 2012. During his second term as Prime Minister, he was the Chairman of the ruling United Russia party.

Born in Leningrad, then part of the Soviet Union, Putin studied law at the Saint Petersburg State University, graduating in 1975. Putin was a KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring in 1991 to enter politics in Saint Petersburg. He moved to Moscow in 1996 and joined President Boris Yeltsin's administration, rising quickly through the ranks and becoming Acting President on 31 December 1999, when Yeltsin resigned. Putin won the subsequent 2000 presidential election by a 53% to 30% margin, thus avoiding a runoff with his Communist Party of the Russian Federation opponent, Gennady Zyuganov. He was re-elected President in 2004 with 72% of the vote.

During Putin's first presidency, the Russian economy grew for eight straight years, and GDP measured in purchasing power increased by 72%. The growth was a result of the 2000s commodities boom, high oil prices, and prudent economic and fiscal policies. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits, Putin was ineligible to run for a third consecutive presidential term in 2008. The 2008 presidential election was won by Dmitry Medvedev, who appointed Putin Prime Minister, what some opponents considered the beginning of a period of "tandemocracy". In September 2011, after presidential terms were extended from four to six years, Putin announced he would seek a third term as president. He won the March 2012 presidential election with 64% of the vote, a result which aligned with pre-election polling. Falling oil prices coupled with international sanctions imposed at the beginning of 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea and military intervention in Eastern Ukraine led to GDP shrinking by 3.7% in 2015, though the Russian economy rebounded in 2016 with 0.3% GDP growth and is officially out of the recession.

Under Putin's leadership, Russia has scored poorly in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index and experienced democratic backsliding according to both the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index and Freedom House's Freedom in the World index. Putin has enjoyed high domestic approval ratings during his career, and received extensive international attention as one of the world's most powerful leaders. U.S. intelligence agencies have accused him of launching an influence campaign against Hillary Clinton in the 2016 United States presidential election.

✵ 7. October 1952   •   Other names Vladimir Vladimirovič Putin
Vladimir Putin photo
Vladimir Putin: 110   quotes 27   likes

Vladimir Putin Quotes

“If there is no possibility or, to put it in plain terms, if there is no money… What can you do? You can't go to a store, you can't buy anything, either a cannon, or a missile, or a medicine. For this reason the economy is at the basis of everything. In the beginning it was Karl Marx and then Freud and others…”

Vladimir Putin

During a meeting with representatives of the Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, May 13. 2006
http://web.archive.org/web/20060614140558/http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/speeches/2006/05/13/1557_type82915type82917type84779_105660.shtml
2006- 2010

Money

“There is no such thing as a former KGB man.”

Vladimir Putin

Responding to Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin, who called himself a former KGB officer. http://vesti.lenta.ru/editor/2000/05/06/pobeda/
2000 - 2005

“Syria is already in the grips of a civil war, unfortunately enough, and Egypt is moving in that direction. We would like to see the Egyptian people avoid this fate.”

Vladimir Putin

On the situation in Egypt after the ousting of Egyptian president Morsi, 7 July 2013 http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/egypt-approaching-civil-war-vladimir-putin/articleshow/20956290.cms The Economic Times.co.uk
2011 - 2015

Fate , War , People

“Ukrainian army soldiers are being killed in Donbas. It’s horrible. When I think about this, it makes a very strong impression on me. Because I consider all of them to be ours.”

Vladimir Putin

https://twitter.com/dimsmirnov175/status/971351275152576513 (На Донбассе гибнут военнослужащие украинской армии. Когда я об этом думаю, на меня это производит очень сильное впечатление. Потому что я считаю, что там все наши.) https://twitter.com/dimsmirnov175/status/971351275152576513/video/1
On Ukraine

Thinking , Strong

“To forgive the terrorists is up to God, but to send them to him is up to me.”

Vladimir Putin

"Guess what Vladimir Putin never said" http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Guess-what-Vladimir-Putin-never-said/articleshow/49846646.cms, The Times of India (19 November 2015)
Misattributed

God , Forgiveness

“The biggest nationalist in Russia: that’s me.”

Vladimir Putin

Самый большой националист в России — это я
Addressing the Valdai Club http://www.vz.ru/news/2014/10/24/712269.html (24 October 2014)
2011 - 2015

“There are historians here, and people with their own views on our country’s history might argue with me, but I think that the Russian and Ukrainian peoples are practically one single people, no matter what others might say.”

Vladimir Putin

Вот люди, которые имеют свои собственные взгляды, здесь историков очень много, на историю нашей страны, могут поспорить, но мне кажется, что русский и украинский народ – это практически один народ, вот кто бы чего ни говорил.
At the Seliger National Youth Forum, August 29, 2014. http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/46507 http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/46507
On Ukraine

People , History , Thinking , Country

“Crimea is not a disputed territory. There has been no ethnic conflict there, unlike the conflict between South Ossetia and Georgia. Russia has long recognized the borders of modern-day Ukraine. On the whole, we have completed our talks on borders. The issue of demarcation still stands, but this is just a technicality.”

Vladimir Putin

Крым не является никакой спорной территорией. Там не было никакого этнического конфликта, в отличие от конфликта между Южной Осетией и Грузией. И Россия давно признала границы сегодняшней Украины. Мы, по сути, закончили в общем и целом наши переговоры по границе. Речь идет о демаркации, но это уже технические дела.
Interview with ARD Television http://www.businessinsider.com/putin-in-2008-crimea-is-not-disputed-territory-and-is-part-of-ukraine-2015-4, Germany, in Sochi, Russia, August 29, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080912164721/http://www.government.ru:80/content/governmentactivity/mainnews/archive/2008/08/29/2344019.htm
On Ukraine

“You know my position; I spoke about it a number of times. I believe that we are one nation with practically no differences. There are some cultural differences, and the linguistic colouring is a little different. As for me, for instance, the identity of the Ukrainian people’s culture is worth a lot. It is a very rich culture. But in essence, on the whole, we are one people, and a very patient one.”

Vladimir Putin

Visit to Lebedinsky GOK, 2017-07-14
On Ukraine

People , Time

“In this sense our historical, spiritual and other roots entitle me to say that basically we are one and the same people.”

Vladimir Putin

Annual press conference, 2017-12-14
Original: И в этом смысле наши исторические, духовные и прочие корни дают мне право говорить, что в своей основе мы один народ.
Source: http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/56378 http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/56378

People , Sense

“[Anton Denikin, in his diary] “has a discussion there about Great and Little Russia, Ukraine. He says that no one should be allowed to interfere in relations between us; this has always been only Russia’s business.””

Vladimir Putin

On Ukraine

Business

“Look, there are senior executives from our television company Russia Today sitting across from me. What is happening in some countries where they operate? They are being banned. What does this mean? It means those who do so are afraid of the competition… Someone is making it hard for them. That means we are winning…. We do not have global media like CNN, Fox News, BBC and so on… We have just one fairly modest channel. Even if it causes so much heartburn and fear of it being able to influence minds, then we are winning this competition…”

Vladimir Putin

Cooperation, Terrorism, UK & USA, President Trump, Resolving Conflict, Defense, Crimea, The Media, Nuclear Weapons Policy: 15th Plenary Session (18 October 2018)

Fear , Making love , Country

“Crimea is our land… Even if someone decides to argue with me, the dispute will immediately come to a dead-end… Democracy is the power of the people. How is it exercised, this power of the people? It is exercised through referendums, elections and so on. People came to a referendum in Crimea and voted for independence, first, and then for being part of Russia…. Let me remind you for the hundredth time that there was no referendum in Kosovo, only the parliament voted for independence, that was all. Everyone who wanted to support and destroy the former Yugoslavia said: well, thank God, we are fine with that… we proceed based on the will expressed by the people who live on that territory.”

Vladimir Putin

Cooperation, Terrorism, UK & USA, President Trump, Resolving Conflict, Defense, Crimea, The Media, Nuclear Weapons Policy: 15th Plenary Session (18 October 2018)

Democracy , God , Time , Dead

“We are improving our attack systems as an answer to the United States building its missile defense system… Clearly, we have overtaken all our, so to speak, partners and competitors in this sphere, and this fact is acknowledged by the experts. No one has a high-precision hypersonic weapon…So, we feel confident in this sense.”

Vladimir Putin

Cooperation, Terrorism, UK & USA, President Trump, Resolving Conflict, Defense, Crimea, The Media, Nuclear Weapons Policy: 15th Plenary Session (18 October 2018)

Sense , Self-confidence , Confidence , Feeling

“Generally speaking, it is irresponsible to lead the world to the brink of a global crisis whose consequences are hard to foresee. We have never used such a policy, and we will not do so in the future…. We are not afraid of anything. Given our territory, our defense system, and our people that are ready to fight for independence and sovereignty — the willingness of our men and women to give up their lives for their country is not common among all nations. Nobody can change these things, and this makes us certain that we can feel secure…”

Vladimir Putin

Cooperation, Terrorism, UK & USA, President Trump, Resolving Conflict, Defense, Crimea, The Media, Nuclear Weapons Policy: 15th Plenary Session (18 October 2018)

Country , Future , People , Fight

“The next step is a political settlement at the UN in Geneva. We need to form a constitutional committee now. Progress is not easy, but we are still moving forward. I hope that we will move ahead with our partners in this area. We all need to be on the alert, not underestimate the threats, and step up our joint work to combat terrorism, the ideology of terrorism and the financing of terrorism.”

Vladimir Putin

Source: Cooperation, Terrorism, UK & USA, President Trump, Resolving Conflict, Defense, Crimea, The Media, Nuclear Weapons Policy: 15th Plenary Session (18 October 2018)

Hope

“Warfare with the use of aviation and military hardware and so on, a huge number of militant groups on the territory of this country, with militants coming mostly from terrorist organisations based abroad, including Al-Qaeda who were active in this country. Thank God, we got rid of this but we have not eradicated terrorism per se. Of course, terrorism still poses a great threat to our country as well, which was why we launched these operations in Syria…”

Vladimir Putin

Cooperation, Terrorism, UK & USA, President Trump, Resolving Conflict, Defense, Crimea, The Media, Nuclear Weapons Policy: 15th Plenary Session (18 October 2018)

God , Country

“There is a demand for true heroism in our lives. True heroism can manifest itself, in particular, by defending civilization from today’s evils. Of course, terrorism is one of the most serious and challenging evils…. the only way to effectively stand up to terrorism is to join efforts. Unfortunately, in the true sense of the word, we have not put this cooperation in place yet. There are some aspects of cooperation where we have succeeded but this is not enough. By the highest standards, we have failed to join efforts the way we should so far, while this could be done, based on the relevant international rules of law and UN resolutions.”

Vladimir Putin

Cooperation, Terrorism, UK & USA, President Trump, Resolving Conflict, Defense, Crimea, The Media, Nuclear Weapons Policy: 15th Plenary Session (18 October 2018)

Law , Sense , Way , Evil

“These discussions have always presented different and sometimes even opposite points of view. I think that this is the advantage of this discussion club; we call it a discussion club because where there is only one, right point of view, there is no place for discussion. Truth is born from comparing different approaches to the same phenomena and various assessments. Thanks to your participation, we can reach this result.”

Vladimir Putin

Cooperation, Terrorism, UK & USA, President Trump, Resolving Conflict, Defense, Crimea, The Media, Nuclear Weapons Policy: 15th Plenary Session (18 October 2018)

Truth , Thinking

“For some years before us, countries that agreed to participate in these anti-terrorist operations, most often voluntarily, and maybe even with less than perfect goals and objectives – what result have we seen in the previous three years? None. While we have liberated almost 95 percent of the entire territory of the Syrian Republic. This is my first point. Second. We supported Syria’s statehood, prevented the state from collapsing. True, there are still many problems.”

Vladimir Putin

Cooperation, Terrorism, UK & USA, President Trump, Resolving Conflict, Defense, Crimea, The Media, Nuclear Weapons Policy: 15th Plenary Session (18 October 2018)

Perfection , Support , Problem , Country

“This is not the problem. The problem is that this part of society is aggressively imposing their view on the majority. We have to be more loyal to each other, more open and transparent… We have to respect everyone, that is true, but we must not impose our points of view on others. Meanwhile, representatives of the so-called liberal idea are simply forcing their ideas on others. They dictate the need for the so-called sex education. Parents are against it…”

Vladimir Putin

Source: Vladimir Putin’s news conference, Transcript, Kremlin.ru, http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/60857 (29 June 2019)

Problem , Sex , Parent , Education

“We have a law that everybody has been kicking us for – a law prohibiting homosexual propaganda among minors. But listen, let a person grow up, become an adult and then to decide who he or she is. Leave children in peace. There are so many inventions nowadays…they invented five or six genders, transformers, trans… I do not even understand what it is.”

Vladimir Putin

2019

Peace , Law , Understanding , Personality

“As to Russia, we spoke about it a number of times and we reaffirmed that at the forum again and also agreed on that in the final document. We are going to fully comply with our commitments. In the nearest future we will begin the ratification of these agreements and will conduct the necessary domestic procedures. These issues are highly relevant for us.I stated this at the last plenary session. Let me remind you that according to the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, the warming in Russia is happening 2.5 times faster than the average global warming. This is a major challenge for us. We must realise that. This is the reason for floods, and for permafrost thawing in the areas where we have fairly big cities. We must be able to understand how to react to the climate changes underway there.”

Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin’s news conference, Transcript, Kremlin.ru, http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/60857 (29 June 2019)
2019

Future , Time , Understanding , Change

“Positions have been coordinated, except for the United States, which always has a special opinion. In fact, the US delegation was open about it from the outset. Everyone knows the current Administration’s stance on the Paris Accords. Nevertheless, all the other participants in the forum confirmed their readiness to implement the agreements under the Paris Accords. Actually, I think there is also a positive moment in the US position too, since the Americans said they were ready to work on the environmental agenda under their own programme. We have to read the final wording but the fact that the Americans say they also want to contribute to solving environmental issues is a positive thing, in my view.”

Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin’s news conference, Transcript, Kremlin.ru, http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/60857 (29 June 2019)
2019

Thinking , Reading

“So the Jews have problems with finances, only such a thing could happen in Crimea.”

Vladimir Putin

Quoted in Putin Makes Joke About Jews and Money, Speaks Hebrew https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/putin-makes-joke-about-jews-and-money-speaks-hebrew-1.7041106 (20 March 2019)
2019

Problem

“Товарищ волк знает, кого кушать. Кушает, и никого не слушает, и слушать, судя по всему, не собирается.”

Vladimir Putin

2006- 2010

“It's extremely dangerous trying to resolve political problems outside the framework of the law — first the ‘Rose Revolution', then they'll think up something like blue.”

Vladimir Putin

word play here: "rose" having the colloquial sense of "lesbian" in modern Russian, and "blue" meaning "gay"
On the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine and the "Rose Revolution" in Georgia, News conference http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/russia/article405454.ece, (23 December 2004).
2000 - 2005

Problem , Thinking , Law

“The situation is under full control.”

Vladimir Putin

Putin describing the status for the corononavirus pandemic in Russia, where thousands were dying. Easter greetings http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/63222 (19 April 2020)
2016 - 2020

“Russia has always respected the bravery and heroism of the Polish people, soldiers and officers, who stood up first against Nazism in 1939.”

Vladimir Putin

On the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II, 1 September 2009 https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/02/world/europe/02russia.html
2006 - 2010

People

“Our nuclear weapons doctrine does not provide for a pre-emptive strike.... there is no provision for a pre-emptive strike in our nuclear weapons doctrine. Our concept is based on a reciprocal counter strike. We are prepared and will use nuclear weapons only when we know for certain that some potential aggressor is attacking Russia...Only when we know for certain – and this takes a few seconds to understand – that Russia is being attacked we will deliver a counter strike. This would be a reciprocal counter strike. Why do I say ‘counter’? Because we will counter missiles flying towards us by sending a missile in the direction of an aggressor. Of course, this amounts to a global catastrophe but I would like to repeat that we cannot be the initiators of such a catastrophe... any aggressor should know that retaliation is inevitable and they will be annihilated. And we as the victims of an aggression, we as martyrs would go to paradise while they will simply perish because they won’t even have time to repent their sins.”

Vladimir Putin

2016 - 2020, Valdai Discussion Club: 15th Plenary Session (18 October 2018)

Time , Understanding , Flying

“Any minority’s right to be different must be respected, but the right of the majority must not be questioned.
..
Without the values at the core of Christianity and other world religions, without moral norms that have been shaped over millennia, people will inevitably lose their human dignity.”

Vladimir Putin

19 September 2013 during his speech at the Valdai forum
2013

People , World , Religion , Question

“May love fill every heart and inspire us all to achieve our goals and scale the greatest heights. For the sake of our loved ones and for the sake of our only country, our great Motherland.”

Vladimir Putin

Source: "New Year Address to the Nation" http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67514 (31 December 2021)

Country , Heart , Love

“But the real magic of the New Year is that it opens our hearts to empathy and trust, generosity and mercy.”

Vladimir Putin

2021

Heart

“New Year's Eve is literally filled with good cheer and happy thoughts, as we all try to put our best foot forward. This openness and generosity are the spirit of this wonderful holiday, when it is so important to warm parents’ hearts with kindness and loving care, to hug them if they are near you, and to tell everyone around you how dear they are to you and that happiness is all about love, children, family, and friends.”

Vladimir Putin

2021

Parent , Love , Happiness , Children

“As we ring in the New Year, we hope that it will bring new opportunities for us. Of course, we hope luck will be on our side, but we understand that making our dreams reality primarily depends on us, on what we prioritise in our daily lives, on our ability to commit to our projects and achieve concrete, tangible results.”

Vladimir Putin

2021

Dependency , Understanding , Dreams , Hope

“Our army does not attack any civilian infrastructure site. We have every capability of knowing what is situated where,”

Vladimir Putin

"Humiliated Putin scrambles to save face as Sweden and Finland join NATO: Russian leader says countries 'can join whatever they like' - and attacks the bloc's 'imperialist ambitions'" https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10967023/Putin-insists-DOESNT-care-Finland-Sweden-join-NATO-denied-bombing-Ukrainian-mall.html, Daily Mail, 29 June 2022
2020s, On conducting a "special military operation" in Ukraine (24 February 2022)

“You can do a lot more with weapons and politeness than just politeness.”

Vladimir Putin

"Putin’s War of Words" https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/world/europe/vladimir-putin-war-of-words.html, New York Times, 5 December 2022
2010s, 2014

“It's better not to argue with women.”

Vladimir Putin

"Putin on Hillary: 'It's Better Not to Argue With Women'" https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/putin-on-hillary-its-better-not-to-argue-with-women/439788/, The Atlantic, 4 June 2014
2010s, 2014

Women

“It is important to prevent terrorist infiltration into our neighboring countries. Even when they pretend to be refugees.”

Vladimir Putin

Putin does not want to receive Afghan migrants for fear of terrorism: “fighters disguised as refugees” https://palnws.be/2021/08/poetin-wil-geen-afghaanse-migranten-opvangen-uit-vrees-voor-terrorisme-als-vluchteling-vermomde-strijders/
2020s, 2021

Country