Quotes from Vladimir Putin

We should not just consume hydrocarbon fuel but use it to develop nuclear energy, hydro power and renewable energy sources.

In line with international law, only the U.N. Security Council could 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 are inadmissible and can only be interpreted as an aggression.

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.

I don't read books by people who have betrayed the Motherland.

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

We're no longer in the Cold War. Eavesdropping on friends is unacceptable.

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

The United States has overstepped its borders in all spheres - economic, political and humanitarian - and has imposed itself on other states.

There is no such thing as a former KGB man.

Chess makes man wiser and clear-sighted.

The centuries-old history and culture of India, majestic architectural monuments and museums of Delhi, Agra and Mumbai have a unique attractive force.

I believe the U.S. already understands and will understand more and more that only a strong Russia will respond to the genuine interests of the United States.

It's better not to argue with women.

Spying has always gone on since ancient times.

Stalin is the most popular figure in all of Russia.

Cromwell is just as much of a bloody dictator as was Stalin.

At last, Russia has returned to the world arena as a strong state - a country that others heed and that can stand up for itself.

For Russia, there is not and there may not be another political option but democracy. However, Russian democracy is... not at all the realization of standards imposed on us from outside.

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

The Eurasian union is a project meant to preserve the identities of nations and the historic Eurasian community in the new century, in a new world.

NATO was built to counteract the Soviet Union in its day and time. At this point there is no threat coming from the Soviet Union, because there is no Soviet Union anymore. And where there was the Soviet Union once, there is now a number of countries, among them the new and democratic Russia.

Even during the years of the Cold War, the intense confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States, we always avoided any direct clash between our civilians and, most certainly, between our military.

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.

In the 20th century, the Soviet Union made the state's role absolute. In the long run, this made the Soviet economy totally uncompetitive. This lesson cost us dearly. I am sure nobody wants to see it repeated.