Putin, a former former KGB intelligence agent who on other occasions lamented the collapse of the Soviet Union, said the collapse of communist rule three decades ago remained a “tragedy” for “many citizens.”
The comments, broadcast by state news agency RIA Novosti on Sunday, are excerpts from a new documentary by Russian TV channel Piervy Kanal, titled Russia. Recent history “.
“After all, what was the collapse of the Soviet Union? It was the collapse of historical Russia called the Soviet Union, ”the Russian leader said.
A loyal servant of the former communist regime, Putin was dismayed by the collapse of the Soviet Union, an event he called “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century.”
Putin fears that Western military ambitions will spread to the countries of the former Soviet Union and even called on NATO this week to formally withdraw its 2008 decision to open its doors to Georgia and Ukraine.
The end of the Soviet Union coincided with a period of great economic instability, which left many citizens in poverty, while the new Russia experienced the transition from communism to capitalism.
Citing fragments of the documentary Pirvi Canal, RIA Novosti noted that Putin said that at the time he sometimes worked as a taxi driver in order to earn a little more. “Sometimes I had to earn extra money,” the Russian president said.
“This means making extra money as a private driver. To be honest, it’s unpleasant to talk about it, but, unfortunately, it was so, ”he admits.
