Vladimir Putin quotes

I'm an adult and I know what power means in the modern world. In the modern world, power is mainly defined by such factors as the economy, defence and cultural influence. I believe that in terms of defence, Russia is without any doubt one of the leaders because we are a nuclear power and our nuclear weapons are perhaps the best in the world.
- Vladimir Putin

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

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.
- Vladimir Putin

Any fourth grade history student knows socialism has failed in every country, at every time in history.
- Vladimir Putin

Democracy is an internal subject of the developing society. There are fundamentals of democracy, and they should be understood universally in different countries.
- Vladimir Putin

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.
- Vladimir Putin

People in the eastern regions [of Ukaraine] are talking about federalisation, and Kiev has at long last started talking about de-centralisation. Order in the country can only be restored through dialogue and democratic procedures, rather than with the use of armed force, tanks and aircraft.
- Vladimir Putin

I do not exclude this, but I would like to draw your attention to one absolutely key aspect: In line with international law, only the U.N. Security Council can sanction the use of force against a sovereign state. Any other pretext or method which might be used to justify the use of force against an independent sovereign state is inadmissible and can only be interpreted as an aggression.
- Vladimir Putin

If NATO troops walk in Crimea, they will immediately deploy their forces there. Such a move would be geopolitically sensitive for us because, in this case, Russia would be practically ousted from the Black Sea area. We'd be left with just a small coastline of 450 or 600km, and that's it!
- Vladimir Putin

Journalism, as concerns collecting information, differs little if at all from intelligence work. In my judgment, a journalist's job is very interesting.
- Vladimir Putin

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

Chess makes man wiser and clear-sighted.
- Vladimir Putin

Democracy is not possible without effectively working legal system.
- Vladimir Putin

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.
- Vladimir Putin

In relations between the states ... the interests of the country should be correlated with the interests of other countries, and compromise is to be found when resolving the most complex issues.
- Vladimir Putin

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

Prisons where people can't even work is the worst punishment you can think of. And I don't think we should put all convicts in such facilities where people are deprived of their freedom.
- Vladimir Putin

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

I have great love and respect for Russian history and culture. But the world is changing and Russia is too. Russia is part of the modern world, not the world of the past but the modern world. And I believe it has an even greater future than some other countries that can't take care of their young people, of the new generations, of their children, and believe that they can just let things slide.
- Vladimir Putin

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

Nobody should pin their hopes on a miracle.
- Vladimir Putin

Kiev's attempts to exert economic pressure on Donbas (region of east Ukraine) and disrupt its daily life only aggravates the situation. This is a dead-end track, fraught with a big catastrophe.
- Vladimir Putin

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.
- Vladimir Putin

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

Russia is the biggest country in the world. It would be very difficult to surround it, and the world is changing so fast that it would basically be impossible, even in theory.
- Vladimir Putin