Putin Speaks

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Back in August 1999, Vladimir Putin was unexpectedly appointed as Russia’s Prime Minister.

A former director of the FSB, who had cut his teeth in the chaotic politics of St Petersburg, he was the fifth man to hold the post in 16 months.

Given the country was gripped by political and economic turmoil at the time, most observers thought he’d be doing well to still be in frontline politics by the end of the year.

Instead, a visibly tired then leader Boris Yeltsin stunned the world by leaving office on New Years Eve, and appointing Putin as acting president and endorsing him as his successor. Just five months later, he won a national election and assumed office for his first full term.

Twenty five years later, he’s on his fifth and is one of the most influential, and well known, leaders in the world. In his early days in the Kremlin, Putin expressed a desire to establish close relations with the European Union and the broader Western world. But he has now thrown down a challenge to the US, NATO, and the broader Washington-led world order.

How did things turn out this way? For years, the Russian leader repeatedly emphasized what Moscow saw as its vital interests and clearly relayed the country’s red lines, but his words were ignored.

Now, you will get a chance to do what Western leaders refused to do: listen to Putin.

RT has collected the president’s most important archive speeches, press conferences, and answers to questions posed by people from all over the world. Thanks to neural networks, you may not only read, but also hear his words.

Today, as it were, Vladimir Putin is speaking to you.