Vladimir putin quotes

It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation.

I'd rather not deal with such questions, because anyway it's like shearing a pig - lots of screams but little wool.

We need to develop respect for our history, despite all of its flaws, and love for the Fatherland. We need to pay the utmost attention to our common moral values and consolidate Russian society on this basis. I think that this is an absolute priority.

Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force.

If someone wants to open this Pandora's box and deal with it, all right, go for it then.

One thing is clear, everyone, no matter what their professional or material status, no matter what their influence on various state structures, must obey the law.

25 million of Russian people suddenly turned out to be outside the borders of the Russian Federation. They used to live in one state; the Soviet Union has traditionally been called Russia, the Soviet Russia, and it was the great Russia. Then the Soviet Union suddenly fell apart, in fact, overnight, and it turned out that in the former Soviet Union republics there were 25 million Russians. They used to live in one country and suddenly found themselves abroad. Can you imagine how many problems came out?

I'm asking : if the Kosovars have the right to self-determination, why should people on Crimea not have it? I would say: everyone should comply with uniform international rules and not want to change them any time one feels like it.

It's a historical phenomenon that in 250 years, a nation could move from a colony into the most prosperous nation of the world and the leader of the world. It is indeed an achievement, a tribute to the talent of the American nation, the American people and an optimal political and economic system.

Nuclear weapons and other weapons are the means to protect our sovereignty and legitimate interests, not the means to behave aggressively or to fulfil some non-existent imperial ambitions.

We didn't have any relationship at all with Trump.

Whatever we do, all the knowledge, the experience, they stay with us, we carry them on, use them in one way or another.

Europeans are dying out. Don't you understand that? And same-sex marriages don't produce children. Do you want to survive by drawing migrants? But society cannot adapt so many migrants.

I think every person should have some faith inside him, in his heart. What matters is not an external display of this faith, but the inner state of the soul.

A country in which the people are not healthy physically and psychologically, are poorly educated and illiterate, will never rise to the peaks of world civilization.

You must obey the law, always, not only when they grab you by your special place.

Political populism always poses a great danger because it disorients people, creates excessive expectations or, on the contrary, prioritises objectives that are clearly not priorities or are simply impossible to achieve.

I don’t regret anything. I did everything absolutely correctly.

Terrorism has once again shown it is prepared deliberately to stop at nothing in creating human victims. An end must be put to this. As never before, it is vital to unite forces of the entire world community against terror.

Maybe they have nothing else to do in America but to talk about me.

Sometimes it is necessary to be lonely in order to prove that you are right.

Personally, I think that children should be left alone, they should be given an opportunity to grow up, to become aware of themselves and decide themselves who they are: men or women, if they want to have a traditional or homosexual marriage.

The events in Crimea themselves have nothing to do with what happened in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and other regions. In my opinion, when the world becomes unipolar, or when someone tries to make it so, then this one pole has the illusion that all issues can be settled through power. And only when there is a balance of power does the desire to negotiate appears.

A lot can be done, but not everyone immediately succeeds in everything.

An increase of two or three degrees wouldn't be so bad for a northern country like Russia. We could spend less on fur coats, and the grain harvest would go up.

Democracy is not possible without effectively working legal system.

Those who fight corruption should be clean themselves.

Whoever is the first to cry "Stop the thief" is the one who is guilty.

Russia does not want confrontation of any kind. And we will not take part in any kind of 'holy alliance.'

The ability to compromise is not a diplomatic politeness toward a partner but rather taking into account and respecting your partner's legitimate interests.

If you want to become an Islamic radical and have yourself circumcised, I invite you to come to Moscow... I would recommend that he who does the surgery does it so you'll have nothing growing back afterward.

It's better to be hanged for loyalty than be rewarded for betrayal.

Donald Trump is a brilliant and talented person, without a doubt.

If Russia's interests and security are threatened, Russia will resist. Everyone needs to know that.

A policy of expansionism and conquest has no future in the modern world.

Protest actions and propaganda are two slightly different things.

I am sure that, after all, any man in my place should set a positive example for other people.

We in Russia have always considered Russians and Ukrainians to be one people. I still think so.

All people here have political rights, social rights, rights to employment, and no one should face discrimination, but our strategic choice is for traditional families, healthy families and a healthy nation. One does not exclude the other and does not hinder the other. I think this is a balanced approach and is entirely the right approach.

Hitler wanted to destroy Russia- everyone needs to remember how that ended

I was brought up in a very ordinary family, in fact, a worker's family. Both my father and mother were ordinary citizens.

Chess makes man wiser and clear-sighted.

All civilised countries should unite in the fight against international terrorism.

Anyone who doesn't regret the passing of the Soviet Union has no heart. Anyone who wants it restored has no brains.

Besides, does it really matter who hacked Mrs. [Hillary] Clinton's election campaign team database? Does it? What really matters is the content shown to the community. This is what the discussion should be held about.

Homosexuals in Russia live in peace, work, are promoted, receive national awards for their achievements in science, art or any other sphere, medals are awarded to them, I have awarded them myself.

There is no uniform, global model for democracy.

I have always tried to sense the mood of the people, their needs, their attitude toward ways to solve problems, their priorities. That's mainly what I go by. And I think that's the most important thing in any person's work, in the work that the people of Russia entrusted in me.

I think: the powers like to talk about "freedom" in order to wash the population's brains.

How can I be a gangster, if I worked for the KGB? It is absolutely ridiculous.

Why don't you meet Osama bin Laden, invite him to Brussels or to the White House and engage in talks, ask him what he wants and give it to him so he leaves you in peace?

Of course, it's always bad to lose, of course it's always a hardship when you lose to yesterday's miners or yesterday's tractor drivers. But life is life. It'll surely go on.

One can feel calm and at ease. Just leave kids alone, please.

We discussed this very important issue yesterday over a beer.

You know every stage of your life has an impact on you.

Policies are being pursued that place on the same level a multi-child family and a same-sex partnership, a faith in God and a belief in Satan. This is the path to degradation.

From the beginning, we failed to overcome Europe's division. The Berlin Wall fell, but invisible walls were moved to the East of Europe. This has led to mutual misunderstandings and assignments of guilt. They are the cause of all crises ever since.

This terrible tragedy.... the entire international community should unite in the struggle against terrorism this is a blatant challenge to humanity.

I guess I can call myself a pragmatist with a conservative perspective. It would be hard for me to explain this, but I always take realities of today, lessons from the distant and recent past into consideration.

I firmly believe that the reputation of any country which is capable of defending the life and dignity of its citizens, and can conduct independent foreign policy will only improve in mid- and long-term perspective.

Russian culture is multifaceted and diverse. So if you want to understand, to feel Russia, then of course you need to read books, Tolstoy and Chekhov and Gogol and others. Listen to music. Tchaikovsky. Watch our classical ballet. But the most important thing is that you need to talk with people.

I insist that people - wherever they live - have their rights and they must be able to fight for them.

I don't want to offend anyone, but the United States, everywhere, all over the world, is actively interfering in electoral campaigns in other countries. Is this really news to you? Just talk to people but in such a way (to the extent it is possible for you) so as to convince them that you're not going to make it public. Point your finger to any spot on the world's map, everywhere you'll hear complaints that American officials interfere in their political domestic processes.

The Russian people chose democracy at the beginning of the 1990s and this was their final choice.

They are constantly trying to drive us into a corner because we have an independent position, because we maintain it and because we tell it like it is and don't engage in hypocrisy. But there is a limit to everything. And with Ukraine, our Western partners have crossed the line, playing the bear and acting irresponsibly and unprofessionally.

Terrorists are always a threat to someone. If we'll be scared of them, it means they have won.

Any country is hard to govern, even a very small country. It's not a question of whether the country is large or small. It's a question of how you relate to the work, to what extent you feel responsible for it. Russia is also hard to govern. Russia is at the development stage of both its political system and the creation of a market-based economy. It's a complicated process, but very interesting. Russia, actually, is not just a large country, it's a great country. I mean its traditions, and its cultural particularities.

Russian police force, fortunately, so far, do not use batons, tear gas or any other extreme measures of instilling order, something that we often see in other countries, including in the United States. Speaking of opposition, let us recall the movement Occupy Wall Street. Where is it now? The law enforcement agencies and special services in the US have taken it apart, into little pieces, and have dissolved it.

It is well known that homosexuality is a criminal offense in the United States, in four US states. If it is good or bad, we know the decision of the Constitutional Court, but this problem has not been dealt with yet, it is still being addressed by the legislation of the United States. This is not the case in Russia.

The US wants to subdue Russia, to solve US problems at Russia's expense. No one in history ever managed to do this to Russia, and no one ever will.

I have a private life in which I do not permit interference. It must be respected.

It is impossible to solve health problems of millions of people with the help of pills. People need to put it into practice, have passion for it; healthy lifestyle, fitness and sports should become fashionable.

Russia doesn't negotiate with terrorists. It destroys them.

People in Russia say that those who do not regret the collapse of the Soviet Union have no heart, and those that do regret it have no brain.

The path towards a free society has not been simple. There are tragic and glorious pages in our history.

There is no one to talk to since Mahatma Gandhi died.

Work is already underway today on creating unique high-precision weapons systems and manoeuvrable combat units that will have an unpredictable flight trajectory for the potential opponent. Along with the means for overcoming anti-missile defences that we already have, these new types of arms will enable us to maintain what is definitely one of the most important guarantees of lasting peace, namely, the strategic balance of forces.

Respecting the sovereignty means preventing coups, unconstitutional actions and illegitimate overthrowing of the legitimate government. All these things should be totally prevented.

It's better not to argue with women... When people push boundaries too far, it's not because they are strong but because they are weak. But maybe weakness is not the worst quality for a woman.

Everyone must hoe his plot daily.

Stalin is the most popular figure in all of Russia.

Even if we do not always agree on every aspect, nobody should take this as an excuse to declare us as enemies.

When Saddam Hussein was eliminated, the Iraqi statehood and thousands of people from the former Baath party were also eliminated. Thousands of Iraqi servicemen, who were part of the state's Sunni elite, found themselves thrown out into the street. No one gave a thought about them, and today they end up in the ISIS army.

It is not what your supporters, friends or your political adversaries call you that matters. What is important is what you think you must do in the interests of the country, which put you in such position, such post as the Head of the Russian State.

We will not allow the past to drag us down and stop us from moving ahead. We understand where we should move.

Nobody should pin their hopes on a miracle.

I'm convinced that a person in my position must provide a positive example to people.

Russia will not soon become, if it ever becomes, a second copy of the United States or England - where liberal value have deep historic roots.

It's better not to argue with women.

People are always teaching us democracy but the people who teach us democracy don't want to learn it themselves.

If you are a Christian, you are in danger. If you decided to abandon your faith and become an atheist, you also are to be liquidated according to their concept. You are in danger if you decide to become a Muslim. It is not going to save you anyway because they believe traditional Islam is hostile to their goals.

I'm convinced that democracy cannot be exported from one country to another, like you cannot expert revolutions, ideology.

I have to say that oil and gas revenues make up a large part of the Russian budget revenue. This is a serious component for us in addressing economic development, budget funding for our development programmes and, of course, and meeting of our social commitments to our citizens.

It's not considered polite in Russia to count the money in someone else's pocket.

I've repeatedly seen the anti-Russian card played during domestic political campaigns in the States. I think that it's a very short-sighted approach. It seems to me that it doesn't fully meet the level of responsibility that lies on the shoulders of the U.S. I think that all this should be more dignified, calm and more balanced.

The philosophy of FIFA is to expand world soccer space, to spread out the world football space.

There used to be the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. There used to be Soviet troops in the GDR. And we must honestly admit that they were occupation troops, which remained in Germany after WWII under the guise of allied troops. Now these occupation troops are gone, the Soviet Union has collapsed, and the Warsaw Pact is no more. There is no Soviet threat, but NATO and U.S. troops are still in Europe. What for?

It is my greatest desire, I want the people in Russia to be happy and I want our partners around the world to seek to develop relations with Russia.

I am the wealthiest man, not just in Europe, but in the whole world. I collect emotions.

Russia's partners should understand it's best not to mess with us.

I have several portraits of Jigoro Kano and a bust too, a very beautiful one.

There are complicated processes going on in society in the Crimea. There are problems of the Crimean Tatars, the Ukrainian population, the Russian population, the Slavic population in general, but this is Ukraine's domestic political problem.

I am the president of 146 million Russians. I have to represent their interests. We are willing to settle this without any conflicts and to search for compromises on the basis of international law.

Everything will probably never be Ok. But we have to try for it.

Russians have different far lofty ambitions; more of a spiritual kind. It's more about your relationship with God .

Absolute trust is something hard to achieve even in a family, and it is much harder to achieve on an international level.

Democracy cannot be exported to some other place. This must be a product of internal domestic development in a society.

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

The biggest nationalist in Russia: that's me.

I'll be honest, I felt an urge to squeeze him like a kitten and that led to the gesture I made. There was nothing behind it really.

Terrorists are always a threat to someone. If we'll be scared of them, it means they have won. But that doesn't mean we can have a devil-may-care attitude toward this threat. We must do everything to stop these threats and not give the terrorists a single chance to demonstrate their brutality and hatred of mankind.

I consider it to be the meaning of my whole life and my obligation to serve my fatherland and our people.

Nobody should have any illusion about the possibility of gaining military superiority over Russia. We will never allow this to happen.

There is no such thing as a former KGB man.

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. One must respect every minority’s right to be different, but the rights of the majority must not be put into question.

A happy love needs to be reciprocated.

We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord's blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal.

There can be no democracy without observing the law and everyone must observe it - that is the most basic and important thing that we all should remember.

We should all be aware of the fact that when revolutionary - not evolutionary - changes come, things can get even worse. The intelligentsia should be aware of this. And it is the intelligentsia specifically that should keep this in mind and prevent society from radical steps and revolutions of all kinds. We've had enough of it. We've seen so many revolutions and wars. We need decades of calm and harmonious development.

Frankly speaking, we all know that provoking military and political instability, regional, and other conflicts is a helpful means of distracting the public from growing domestic social and economic problems in certain countries. Such attempts cannot be ruled out, unfortunately.

I believe that the Europeans, first and foremost, the Germans, will also understand me. Let me remind you that in the course of political consultations on the unification of East and West Germany... some nations that were then and are now Germany's allies did not support the idea of unification. Our nation, however, unequivocally supported the sincere, unstoppable desire of the Germans for national unity. I am confident that you have not forgotten this, and I expect that the citizens of Germany will also support the aspiration of the Russians, of historical Russia, to restore unity.

Berlusconi is being tried because he lives with women. If he was homosexual, no one would have lifted a finger against him.

The transfer of power is always a test of the constitutional system, a test of its strength.

We will work with any Administration and with any President in whom the American people have placed their trust. That is, of course, if they wish to cooperate with Russia.

NATO and the USA wanted a complete victory over the Soviet Union. They wanted to sit on the throne in Europe alone.