If the nation is not capable of preserving itself and reproducing, if it loses it vital bearings and ideals, then it doesn't need foreign enemies - it will fall apart on its own.
— Vladimir Putin
It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation.
There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy.
Nobody should have any illusion about the possibility of gaining military superiority over Russia. We will never allow this to happen.
In some of the states in the U.S., homosexuality remains a felony.
How does one control weight? By not overeating. How does one stay in shape? One plays sports. There are no magic pills here.
I think it's fine when the mayor of the biggest city in Russia consults the president.
Politics should not interfere with sports. And sports should impact politics.
My personal position is that society must keep children safe.
You need to put drones under control; you need to lay out certain rules of engagement in order to prevent or minimize collateral casualties. It is extremely important.
Any people has a right to self-determination, and now in Europe the process of diluting national sovereignty in the framework of a united Europe is more accepted.
Spying has always gone on since ancient times.
I think happiness is love.
As far as oligarchs who acquire sports team abroad, and invest money abroad, I wouldn't treat this phenomenon as something bad.
What is a uni-polar world? No matter how we beautify this term, it means one single centre of power, one single centre of force and one single master.
The state security bodies should not be seen as an institution that works against society and the state; one needs to understand what makes them work against their own people.
I have a private life in which I do not permit interference. It must be respected.
When the States already had nuclear weapons, and the Soviet Union was only building them, we got a significant amount of information through Soviet foreign intelligence channels.
Russia does not and cannot have any political choice but democracy. I want to say, and even stress, that we share those universal democratic principles taken around the whole world.
The more intermediaries there are, the more problems there are.
The worst thing for a politician is to try and cling to power by every possible means, and focus only on that.
I swim almost every day, a thousand meters.
I think the international community should unite to fight such inhuman phenomena as terror attacks and the murder of totally innocent people.
Cromwell is just as much of a bloody dictator as was Stalin.
Between major countries, there certainly always are some common ground and points of tension.
If there are people who act outside the law, then the state must use legal means to impose law in the interests of majority. That's the way it's done in the U.S., and that's the way it's done in Russia.
It's alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries has become commonplace for the United States.
Thieves must sit in prison.
It's Russia some people would like to get rid of. They are still afraid of our nuclear deterrent. We have our own foreign policy whether they like it or not.
I think we should not control the Internet.
Everything will probably never be OK. But we have to try for it.
Sometimes it is necessary to be lonely in order to prove that you are right.
Few people understand the magnitude of the catastrophe that happened late in the 1980s when the Communist Party had failed to modernize the Soviet Union.
Some experts believe that somebody is deceiving WikiLeaks, that its reputation is being undermined in order for it to be used for political purposes.
Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan, 'You're either with us or against us.'
A figure who receives money from abroad for his political work, and thus serves some foreign interest, cannot be a politician in Russia.
In many countries today, moral and ethical norms are being reconsidered; national traditions, differences in nation and culture are being erased.
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that in Russia, unlike in one third of the world's countries, being gay is not a crime.
I spend a little time every day to play sports.
I have a very positive attitude to anyone who is protecting the environment, but it's inadmissible when people are using it as a means of promoting themselves, using it as a source of self-enrichment. I don't want to name any specific examples... but often, environmentalism is used to blackmail companies.
In almost any country, probably in Russia in particular, it's fashionable to criticise people in power. If you come out in support of someone like me, you're going to be accused of trying to ingratiate yourself.
The Russian people have their own cultural code, their own tradition.
At a certain point, we saw the police cracking down on the Occupy Wall Street activists. I won't call the actions of police appropriate or inappropriate.
We must stop using the language of force and return to the path of civilized diplomatic and political settlement.
It is necessary to suppress any extremist actions, on all sides, regardless of their origin.
McCain fought in Vietnam - I think that he has enough civilian blood on his hands.
U.S. society doesn't want to play the role of international policeman.
The United States has overstepped its borders in all spheres - economic, political and humanitarian - and has imposed itself on other states.
Protest actions and propaganda are two slightly different things.
I don't read books by people who have betrayed the Motherland.
