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6 Putin Quotes Worth Remembering for 2016
PolitRussia - translated by J. Arnoldski
Oct. 7, 2016
Putin on Chechen terrorists in 1999:
"We are going to pursue terrorists everywhere. If they are in the airport, we will pursue them in the airport. And if we capture them in the toilet, then we will waste them in the outhouse. The issue has been resolved once and for all”
Putin on his presidential ascent in 2000:
“I understand that I have taken a huge responsibility upon myself, and I know that the head of state in Russia has always been and will be the person who is responsible for everything that happens in the country.”
Putin on the so-called "Bush-Putin Summit" in 2001:
“I wasn’t so excited about having to spend the night on Bush’s ranch. He should have thought about what will happen if he lets in a former intelligence officer. But Bush himself is the son of the former head of the CIA. So we were in the family circle and felt good.”
Putin to journalists criticizing Russia’s anti-terrorist operation in Chechnya in 2002:
“If you want to become an Islamist radical and are ready to undergo circumcision, then I invite you to Moscow. we have a multi-confessional country and we have specialists on this issue. I would recommend them to do the surgery in such a way that it would never grow back.”
“Those who say ‘Russia for Russians’ - you know, it’s difficult to resist giving these people labels - are dishonest people who don’t understand what they’re saying, and that makes them simply morons or provocateurs, because Russia is a multinational country.” (2003)
“In a famous Italian movie, there’s such a phrase: ‘A real man should always try, but a real woman should resist.’” (2004)
Putin on Ukraine after the so-called Orange Revolution (first Maidan): in 2005
“Ukraine is not the abstract Ukrainian leadership. Ukraine is not the oil and gas ‘barons’ who always look after their own interests, be they corporate or personal. Ukraine is above all our fraternal people. And we should think about the totality of relations between Russia and Ukraine.”
“In the life of any political figure, there are, as we say, dark stripes, white ones, light ones, and everything goes up and down no matter what today’s rating is or what rating there is at a certain point in time. The most important thing for a politician is to be a decent and honest person.” (2006)
“I am the richest person not only in Europe, but in the world. I collect emotions, and I am rich by the fact that the Russian people has twice entrusted me with the leadership of such a great country as Russia. I believe that this is my greatest wealth.” 2008
“We cannot stand on wobbly legs. We stand firmly on our feet and are always looking towards the future.” 2009
“Now regarding our relations with Ukraine. I’ll allow myself to disagree when you said that we have been divided and that we wouldn’t win a war. We would win because we are a country of victors…If we look at the statistics of the Second World War, then it is clear that the greatest losses in World War II were suffered by none other than the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic - more than 70% of losses. This means that the war was won - and I don’t want to offend anyone - largely thanks to the human and industrial resources of Russia. This is an historical fact.” (2010)
Putin on the Soviet heritage in 2011:
“You said that we were all proud of our common Homeland. Yes, of course, and proud of Gagarin’s flight, and proud of victory in the war, proud of liberating Europe from Nazism, and many other things…We are proud of our art too. But we were all annoyed or ashamed when we ran out of sugar, or when there was no meat in shops. This was a shame, you know, an embarrassment…”
“And I have a dream that we would all be happy, every one of us. But how can this be done?” 2012
“In the hearts and minds of people, Crimea was always and will remain an inseparable part of Russia. This conviction based on truth and justice was firm and passed on from generation to generation, and both time and circumstances were powerless before it.” 2014
“We can argue about the paths to solving this or that problem. But we should remain united and remember what is most important for us - Russia.” 2015
“Loving those close to you is the most important tradition. There is nothing more important.” 2016