Quotes from Vladimir Putin

I think the international community should unite to fight such inhuman phenomena as terror attacks and the murder of totally innocent people.

We need to use the United Nations Security Council and believe that preserving law and order in today's complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos. The law is still the law, and we must follow it whether we like it or not.

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.

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.

Back in the mid-18th century, in 1745-1747, Ossetia was the first to become part of the Russian Empire. At that time, it was a united entity; North and South Ossetia were one state.

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.

What is a Rechtsstaat? It is obedience to the existing law.

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.

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.

Why does the world dislike Russia? I do not think that we are unloved or considered to be ignorant.

The point of conservatism is not that it prevents movement forward and upward, but that it prevents movement backward and downward, into chaotic darkness and a return to a primitive state.

If we do it, if we work to achieve all this [cultural exchange with Japan], we can and should talk about joint efforts toward ensuring international security, and not only in the Far East.

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

I have worked like a galley slave throughout these eight years, morning till night, and I have given all I could to this work. I am happy with the results.

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.

The strengthening of our statehood is, at times, deliberately interpreted as authoritarianism.

If you want my personal attitude, I would tell you that I don't care about a person's sexual orientation.

The whole world recognizes Russia's cultural achievements. It is impossible to imagine the world culture without Russian culture, without our music and literature.

I have always loved and avidly read the novels of Jack London, Jules Verne and Ernest Hemingway. The characters depicted in their books, who are brave and resourceful people embarking on exciting adventures, definitely shaped my inner self and nourished my love for the outdoors.

Russia can offer state-of-the-art technology, .. For example, we can help other countries launch space devices such as satellites.

All attempts to appease the Nazis between 1934 and 1939 through various agreements and pacts were morally unacceptable and politically senseless, harmful and dangerous.

This work is either useless or harmful, because there is nothing good about populism. If you wanted to hear my opinion on this issue, that is what I think.

We always welcome when somebody says he or she is ready to work with Russia.

I am very grateful to our people who appreciate my work and for their support, as without that support it would have been impossible to get anything done.