“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.” PeopleWayKindProblemPoliticalPoliticsSocialAttentionResponsibilityHistoryPowerEconomicMilitaryHonestyConflictEconomicsDebtSocialismFrankProvokingTaxationConvenientInstabilityEconomic ProblemsDeflectingPolitical Instability Author:Vladimir Putin
“Let us resolve the internal political problems of Russia ourselves” ProblemPoliticalRussiaInternalsResolve Author:Vladimir Putin
“The participants expressed anxiety about the problems the Defense Ministry had been meeting in realizing its plans for future development.” ProblemRealizingPlansDevelopmentAnxietyMeetingsDefenseMinistryParticipantsFuture Development Author:Vladimir Putin
“Problems between countries always exist, especially between such big countries as Russia and the United States. There have always been some issues, but I don't think we should go to extremes.” ThinkingShouldCountryStatesProblemBigsUnitedUnited StatesIssuesExtremesRussia Author:Vladimir Putin
“Even if states sometimes have problems with each other, arts and sports should not suffer from that. Arts and sports are there to bring the people together - and not to divide them.” PeopleIfsShouldArtSometimesStatesProblemTogetherSufferingSportsDivides Author:Vladimir Putin
“I think that all countries of the region should join their efforts in the fight against a common threat - terrorism in general and ISIS in particular. It concerns Iran as well, it concerns Saudi Arabia (although the two countries do not get along very well, ISIS threatens both of them), it concerns Jordan, it concerns Turkey (in spite of certain problems regarding the Kurdish issue), and, in my opinion, everybody is interested in resolving the situation. Our task is to join these efforts to fight against a common enemy.” ThinkingShouldWellsTwoCountryProblemCertainFightingCommonEffortSituationOpinionEnemyIssuesParticularConcernTasksThreatTerrorismSpiteRegionsIranTurkeysIsisJordanArabiaSaudi ArabiaSaudisTwo CountriesCommon EnemyKurdish Author:Vladimir Putin
“How long has it taken the democratic process to develop in the United States? Since it was founded. So, do you think that as regards democracy everything is settled now in America? If this were so, there would be no Ferguson issue, right? There would be no other issues of similar kind, there would be no police abuse. Our goal is to see all these issues and respond to them timely and properly. The same applies to Russia. We also have a lot of problems.” IfsThinkingKindLongStatesProblemWould BeAmericaProcessGoalUnitedUnited StatesDemocracyIssuesTakenAbusePoliceRegardDemocraticRussiaTimelyDemocratic ProcessFerguson Author:Vladimir Putin
“In the 1990s and early 2000s, there was a grave social situation in Russia; our social protection system was destroyed; numerous problems emerged which we have not been able to cope with effectively yet, to get rid of them, in health, sports development.” ProblemAbleSocialSportsSituationDevelopmentProtectionGravesRussiaDestroyed Author:Vladimir Putin
“I believe a healthy lifestyle is an extremely important thing which underpins solution to numerous important problems, including the health of the nation.” BelieveImportantProblemI BelieveNationsHealthySolutionsImportant ThingsIncludingLifestyleHealthy Lifestyle Author:Vladimir Putin
“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.” PeopleNeedsShouldHelpingProblemPassionSportsPracticeMillionsImpossibleHealthySolveLifestylePillsFashionableHealthy LifestyleHealth Problems Author:Vladimir Putin
“America's creative approach to solving the problems the country is faced with, its openness and open-mindedness which make it possible to unleash the potential of the people. I believe that largely due to these qualities America has made such tremendous strides in its development.” PeopleBelieveMadeCountryProblemAmericaI BelieveQualityCreativeDevelopmentApproachDuesOpennessStrideOpen Mindedness Author:Vladimir Putin
“The problem of sexual minorities in Russia has been deliberately made controversial in Russia. There is no such problem in Russia.” Has BeensMadeProblemRussiaMinoritiesControversial Author:Vladimir Putin
“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.” IfsKnowsWellsStillsStatesProblemDecisionUnitedKnownCasesUnited StatesFourCourtCriminalsRussiaOffenseHomosexualityLegislationWell Known Author:Vladimir Putin
“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?” PeopleCountryStatesFactsProblemUsedFoundMillionsImagineUnionsRussiaFormerBordersRepublicSovietSoviet UnionSoviet RussiaFederation Author:Vladimir Putin
“The Russians have turned out to be the largest divided nation in the world nowadays. Is that not a problem?” WorldProblemNationsDivided Author:Vladimir Putin
“Russia is probably one of the first countries to have been confronted with this problem of terrorism. It took some time before the international community realised the danger terrorism poses.” FirstsHas BeensCountryProblemCommunityDangerInternationalTerrorismRussiaRealisedInternational Community Author:Vladimir Putin
“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.” ProblemPoliticalProcessPopulationComplicatedUkraineUkrainianCrimea Author:Vladimir Putin
“Equipping one side of an ethnic conflict and then prodding it to resolve its ethnic problems by force of arms is a very bad policy.” ProblemForceSidesPolicyArmsConflictResolveEthnic Conflict Author:Vladimir Putin
“After the demise of the Soviet Union, we had many problems of our own for which no one was responsible but ourselves: the economic downfall, the collapse of the welfare system, the separatism, and of course the terror attacks that shook our country. In this respect, we do not have to look for guilty parties abroad.” LooksCountryProblemCoursesPartyEconomicResponsibleUnionsTerrorGuiltyOur CountryWelfareSovietCollapseSoviet UnionDownfallDemiseTerror Attacks Author:Vladimir Putin
“The Chancellor [Angela Merkel] and the European partners would be well-advised to address the problems in eastern Ukraine more thoroughly. Maybe they have too many domestic problems of their own at the moment.” WellsMomentsProblemWould BePartnersAddressesEasternUkraineAngela Author:Vladimir Putin
“The Far East is of particular significance for us in terms of this region's priority development. Over the last few years, let us say even over the last decades, we were faced with many problems here. We paid little attention to this territory although it deserves a lot more of it, because it concentrates great wealth as well as opportunities for Russia's future development.” YearsWellsLittlesProblemLastsOpportunityTermWealthAttentionParticularDevelopmentDeservePaidEastDecadesPrioritiesRussiaRegionsSignificanceTerritoryFuture Development Author:Vladimir Putin
“We do not trade territories although concluding a peace treaty with Japan is certainly a key issue and we would like to find a solution to this problem together with our Japanese friends.” ProblemTogetherIssuesKeysSolutionsTradeJapanTerritoryTreatiesConcludingPeace Treaties Author:Vladimir Putin
“The G20 was established as a forum to discuss, first and foremost, world economic issues. If we load it with... Of course, politics affects economic processes, this is obvious, but if we bring some squabbles, or not squabbles, rather, some matters that are really important but relate purely to world politics, we will overload the G20 agenda and instead of addressing such issues as finance, structural economic reforms, tax evasion and so forth, we will engage in endless debates concerning the Syrian crisis or some other global challenges, of which there are many, or the Middle East problem.” IfsWorldFirstsImportantMatterProblemCoursesProcessChallengesIssuesEconomicMiddleTaxesCrisisObviousEastDebateEndlessFinanceReformRelateAgendasMiddle EastLoadForumsEvasionOverloadEconomic IssuesSquabblesWorld PoliticsEconomic ReformsTax Evasion Author:Vladimir Putin
“They [leaders in Western Europe] do not misuse financial instruments, financial injections, but, first of all, seek structural change. This is urgent for our economy as well, maybe even more urgent bearing in mind the problem that we cannot yet deal with, namely the prevalence of the oil and gas sector in the Russian Federation and, as a result, dependence on revenue from oil and gas.” MindFirstsWellsProblemResultsDealsLeaderEconomyEuropeInstrumentsWesternFinancialOilGasDependenceRevenueUrgentMisuseFederationOil And GasInjectionWestern Europe Author:Vladimir Putin
“What are we seeking to achieve? We are seeking to optimize budget spending. I believe that even in such uneasy times we employ a very pragmatic approach towards economic and social issues. We do address major social problems and deliver on our promises to our people.” PeopleBelieveProblemI BelieveSocialIssuesEconomicAchievePromiseApproachMajorsSeekingSpendingBudgetsAddressesSocial IssuesPragmaticUneasySocial Problems Author:Vladimir Putin
“I do not want to speak about our cooperation with Japan now. Thank God, we have had no such problems there. Nor would we want any to arise in the future. Therefore, everything needs to be pre-calculated, and we need to agree upon everything in advance.” WantNeedsProblemSpeakAgreeAriseJapanCooperationThank GodAgree Upon Author:Vladimir Putin
“We believe we have no territorial problems at all. It is only Japan that believes it has territorial problems with Russia. We are ready to talk about this.” BelieveProblemReadyRussiaJapanTerritorial Author:Vladimir Putin
“There is progress in the sense that the Prime Minister [Shinzō Abe] has proposed, outlined, as it were, directions for movement toward a peace treaty and the resolution of issues related to territorial problems. Now, what did he propose? He proposed promoting an environment of trust and cooperation. I believe it is even hard to imagine that it can be any different, that we can agree to sign the documents that we are talking about without trusting each other or without cooperation. That is simply impossible even to imagine.” BelieveDifferentHardProblemI BelieveTalkingIssuesEnvironmentImagineProgressImpossibleMovementAgreeMinistersRelatedResolutionPrimeCooperationImagine ThatDocumentsPrime MinisterPromotingProposeTreatiesTerritorialAbeWithout TrustPeace TreatiesTrusting Each Other Author:Vladimir Putin
“In the area of international security, taking into account that the United States and Russia are the largest nuclear powers: We are ready to jointly work to strengthen the non-proliferation regime for weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. We are ready to work together, and much closer than before, on the problem of fighting terrorism, international terrorism, and here we certainly have vast opportunities.” MeanStatesProblemTogetherFightingOpportunityUnitedUnited StatesSecurityReadyWeaponsMassAreasDestructionAccountsInternationalTerrorismNuclearRussiaWorking TogetherRegimesNational SecurityWeapons Of Mass DestructionMass DestructionDeliveryNuclear PowerProliferationFighting TerrorismInternational Terrorism Author:Vladimir Putin
“If we had joined efforts some time ago [with U.S], we could have avoided many problems the world is facing now, I believe.” IfsWorldBelieveProblemI BelieveEffortAvoided Author:Vladimir Putin
“At any rate, those problems [ non-proliferation regime for weapons of mass destruction ] would not be so acute, with numerous terror attacks and victims of those attacks in many areas of the world - in Europe and in the United States. We also never would have had such an urgent problem with refugees, I have no doubt about it.” WorldStatesProblemUnitedUnited StatesDoubtWeaponsMassEuropeAreasDestructionVictimRateTerrorNo DoubtRegimesRefugeeUrgentWeapons Of Mass DestructionMass DestructionProliferationTerror Attacks Author:Vladimir Putin
“We were also going to develop relations with the current administration [of Barack Obama], but somehow they did not work out well in key areas and, I believe, not through our fault. I will not list all the problems that emerged in the past few years.” YearsBelieveWellsProblemPastI BelieveKeysAreasRelationFaultsCurrentsWork OutListsAdministrationBarack Author:Vladimir Putin
“No doubt, the United States and the American people are a gear country and a great people. Nobody disputes this, but talking about exceptionalism is way too much, and this is creating certain problems in relations, and not only with Russia, as I see it.” PeopleWayCountryStatesProblemCertainUnitedTalkingUnited StatesDoubtToo MuchCreatingRelationRussiaNo DoubtDisputesGearsGreat PeopleExceptionalism Author:Vladimir Putin
“We are ready to meet [with Donald Trump] at any time, this is no problem for us, but I believe we should be patient and wait for the complicated process of forming the new administration to be complete.” ShouldBelieveProblemI BelieveWaitingProcessReadyTrumpPatientComplicatedAdministrationNo ProblemBe Patient Author:Vladimir Putin
“I would like to say, you know, that, unfortunately, we have many unresolved problems. But a great number of people in Russia know Japan and love Japan, and I am sure that eventually we will resolve all our problems.” PeopleKnowsProblemNumbersAnd LoveRussiaJapanResolve Author:Vladimir Putin
“Irrespective of when this may happen, it would not be an exaggeration to say that today millions of people living in Russia and, I am sure, millions of people living in Japan have an urge to get to know each other, cooperate and exchange useful information, as well as a sincere desire that all problems that still remain unresolved be resolved.” PeopleKnowsWellsMayStillsProblemHappensTodayDesireMillionsInformationRussiaJapanUrgesSincereExaggerationUseful Information Author:Vladimir Putin
“I always had a problem when someone was trying to place sport in social and political context. Sport is a separate and unique kind of human activity, which functions under its own rules and principles. It has nothing to do with the political agenda, and neither it should. When politics interferes with sport, unjust things happen.” TryingKindProblemPoliticalSportsUniqueThings HappenInterfere Author:Vladimir Putin
“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.” PeopleThinkingImportantProblemAttitudePrioritiesMood Author:Vladimir Putin
“You made these things up yourselves and now scare yourselves with them and even use them to plan your prospective policies. These policies have no prospects. The only possible future is in cooperation in all areas, including security issues. What is the major security problem today? Terrorism. There are bombings in Europe, in Paris, in Russia, in Belgium. There is a war in the Middle East. This is the main concern. But no, let us keep speculating on the threat from Russia.” WarProblemTodaySecurityPolicyConcernThreatTerrorismScareCooperation Author:Vladimir Putin
“To pay more is the easy way. In fact, the solution possibilities to the problem are many.” WayFactsProblemEasyPayPossibilitySolutionsEasy Way Author:Vladimir Putin
“The Chechnya problem is a centuries-old problem. The thing is that today, fundamentalists and terrorists are exploiting those centuries-old problems to accomplish their own objectives that have nothing to do whatsoever with the interests of Chechnya.” ProblemTodayInterestCenturyAccomplishTerroristObjectivesChechnya Author:Vladimir Putin
“Some Western politicians are already threatening us with not just sanctions, but also the prospect of increasingly serious problems on the domestic front. I would like to know what it is they have in mind exactly: action by a fifth column, this disparate bunch of 'national traitors', or are they hoping to put us in a worsening social and economic situation so as to provoke public discontent? We consider such statements irresponsible and clearly aggressive in tone, and we will respond to them accordingly.” KnowsMindProblemActionSocialPowerfulSituationEconomicFrontsSeriousPoliticianWesternStatementsBunchToneAggressiveProvokingThreateningFifthDiscontentColumnsSanctionsIrresponsibleTraitorCrimeaThreatening Us Author:Vladimir Putin
“President Obama hasn't been elected by the American people in order to be pleasant to Russia. And your humble servant hasn't been elected by the people of Russia to be pleasant to someone either. We work, we argue about some issues. We are human. Sometimes one of us gets vexed. But I would like to repeat once again that global mutual interests form a good basis for finding a joint solution to our problems.” PeopleHumansSometimesProblemFormOrderPresidentInterestIssuesGayFindingsSolutionsBasesHumbleArguingRussiaServantPleasantRepeatsMutualPresident ObamaSyriaJointsGay RightsMutual Interest Author:Vladimir Putin
“This gentleman has taken on the very fashionable theme of fighting corruption and I say again: In order to fight corruption you have to be crystal clear yourself. But there are problems here, and in this regard I unfortunately have a suspicion that this is just a way of getting votes and not a genuine desire to solve the problem.” WayProblemDesireOrderFightingTakenClearGayVoteRegardCorruptionSolveGenuineGentlemanThemeSuspicionSyriaCrystalsFashionableGay Rights Author:Vladimir Putin
“We still have a great amount of work to do in social development, including resolving one of the biggest challenges we face in this area, namely, reducing the gap between high-income earners and people, citizens of our country, who are still living on very modest means indeed. But we cannot, of course, adopt the solution used 80 years ago and simply confiscate the riches of some to redistribute among others. We will use completely different means to resolve this problem, namely, we will ensure good economic growth.” PeopleYearsMeanStillsDifferentCountryUseProblemFacesUsedCoursesSocialGrowthChallengesEconomyRichEconomicDevelopmentAmountCitizensSolutionsAreasYears AgoEconomicsIncludingRichesIncomeOur CountryResolveGapsModestEconomic GrowthReducingLiving OnSocial DevelopmentChallenges We Face Author:Vladimir Putin
“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.” WantProblemSolveRussiaExpenses Author:Vladimir Putin
