Putin's catchphrases are well known all over the world. He has long been considered an unsurpassed master in terms of loud and harsh phrases, which many can simply shock, and also always cause an unchanged public resonance. In this article we will give several striking examples that are most remembered by journalists, impressed the inhabitants of the country.
Martyrs and victims of aggression
Putin’s last current catch phrase, which instantly spread around the world’s media, was pronounced in October 2018 at a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, which took place in Sochi.
One of the topics of the plenary session attended by the Russian president was the prospect of a world nuclear war. The head of the Kremlin noted that the probability of a warning strike was not foreseen in the Russian concept of using nuclear weapons. Many of those present were interested in whether Russia was ready to use its deadly potential.
Speaking of nuclear war, Putin noted that if it takes place, Russians will end up in paradise as martyrs. The President separately explained that he was ready for the uninitiated to once again clarify his position. According to him, Russia is ready to press the red button, including using weapons of mass destruction only if it is convinced that the aggressor is really delivering a blow to its territory. In a statement on nuclear war, Putin emphasized that Russia must be sure of such an act of aggression, only after that it decides to retaliate. Even despite the fact that such events develop within literally a few seconds, so the decision will have to be made instantly.
Putin’s words about heaven and hell instantly flew all over the world media. The statement was harsh, but unequivocal: the aggressor must know that retaliation is inevitable. According to the president, in the event of an attack, the enemy will certainly be destroyed. Vladimir Vladimirovich declared:
We are victims of aggression, and we, as martyrs, will go to heaven, and they will simply die, they will not even have time to repent.
This statement was especially important for the world community, as earlier the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pavel Klimkin said that his department had reasonable suspicions about the presence of nuclear weapons with the appropriate infrastructure in the territory of Crimea. And Russia itself allegedly turns the peninsula into a large-scale military base.
With his phrase about heaven and hell, Putin finally set the priorities in international politics that currently exist in Russia. Its eccentricity and rigidity will be remembered for a long time by everyone in the world. Like many of his other resonant statements.
Press Conference in Astana
With his striking statements, the current president of Russia became famous even before he became head of state. Putin’s first catch phrase, uttered by the people, was uttered in September 1999 at a press conference in Astana. Then Putin, who was the prime minister, was asked to comment on the events of the previous day. On the eve of the Russian aviation staged bombing of Grozny.
When answering a question from ORT reporters, the first known harsh statement by Putin was made.
We will pursue terrorists everywhere. At the airport - at the airport. So, you’ll excuse me, we’ll catch in the toilet, and we will kill them in the toilet, in the end. That's all, the question is closed completely.
A loud expression immediately became popular, circling all the world news agencies. After this speech, the “soak in the toilet” idiom began to live its own life, everyone began to use it at any opportunity.
Interestingly, many politicians reacted differently to it. For example, Gennady Zyuganov said that before someone "soak in the toilet", you need to build a toilet. And in Russia over the past ten years not a single high-tech modern plant has appeared, the communist leader complained. International journalist Alexander Rahr, who wrote The German in the Kremlin, thought Putin later regretted his emotional statement.
Interview with Larry King
In September 2000, Putin uttered his next catch phrase during an interview with one of the most famous American journalists, Larry King. Shortly before this, one of the first tragedies occurred during the presidency of Vladimir Vladimirovich. The Kursk Russian submarine crashed in the Barents Sea when it was less than 200 kilometers from Severomorsk. The disaster occurred on August 12. As a result, the ship was at a depth of 108 meters. All 118 crew members on board were killed. This was one of the largest accidents in the Russian submarine fleet after the Great Patriotic War in terms of the number of deaths.
Larry King asked the Russian president what happened to the submarine. To this, Putin succinctly answered:
She drowned.
This famous phrase of Putin gained scandalous fame. Because of her, he was often accused of cynicism and callousness.
Club of power
September 2000 proved fruitful to loud and resonant statements. It is noteworthy that they were made during interviews with Western journalists. After meeting with Larry King, the Russian president answered questions from the authoritative social and political newspaper Figaro. Then one of Putin’s most famous phrases was uttered, which characterized his uncompromising policies for many years.
Unfortunately, she remained in the shadow of many other utterances. But in vain. It is believed that it contains the key to understanding both the foreign and domestic policies of the president. But this becomes clear only now, after many years.
Then, in an interview with French journalists, the president said:
The state holds a club in its hands, which it beats only once. But on the head.
Now many people actively recall these words of the president, noting for themselves that Putin did just that in all resonant cases. During the Ukrainian crisis, the fight against terrorism, the “swamp process”, the trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky or the case of the Pussy Riot group.
Question about circumcision
Among the best phrases of Putin that many today recall are words spoken in a 2002 press conference following a summit between Russia and the European Union. Then one of the foreign journalists took an interest in the topic of suppressing freedom of speech in the Chechen Republic. At the same time, he obviously meant a fight with the militants.
After hearing a question from a correspondent, the head of state said:
If you really want to become an Islamic radical and are ready to do something to circumcise yourself … then I invite you to Moscow. We have a multiconfessional country, we have specialists on this issue, and I will recommend them to do this operation so that you have nothing to grow!
Interestingly, the essence of the president’s phrase was not fully appreciated by foreign journalists immediately. Initially, the translator who worked at the press conference translated it in a significantly relaxed form.
About envy
In 2006, Vladimir Putin met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. One of the topics at their meeting was the accusations made against Israeli President Moshe Katsav.
An employee of his former office has charged sexual harassment against his head of state. Katsav categorically rejected these allegations, filing a counterclaim with accusations of libel. Soon the situation continued, when reporters found out that law enforcement agencies had statements from several more women who had previously worked with Moshe. They all spoke of harassment by a sex politician.
Putin spoke about this situation when it was still relevant. And he commented on sexual crimes very unexpectedly.
Hello to your president. It turned out to be a very powerful man! Ten women raped! I never expected from him. He surprised us all. We all envy him!
The world community did not primarily appreciate the joke of the Russian president. Especially when it became known that the charges were well-founded. In 2010, Moshe Katsav was convicted of rape and other crimes. In total, he was sentenced to seven years in prison.
At the same time, Putin did not give up his words, saying that the real cause of the conflict lies in the discontent of a significant part of Israeli society with the decisions of his politicians.
They eavesdrop
Interestingly, the situation described above was continued. As it turned out later, initially Putin did not know that his statement regarding the Israeli president would be published.
He spoke about the journalists who made his statement public in October 2006 during the Direct Line. At the same time, he recalled how they treated media representatives in the organization in which he had worked previously, referring to special services.
Regarding the press, I can say the way we joked when I worked in a completely different organization. They were sent to peep, and they are eavesdropping. Ugly.
I do not have anyone to talk to
In the summer of 2007, in response to a question from the journalist of the German publication Der Spiegel, Putin set about lengthy discussions about whether he was a pure democrat, as the correspondent noted.
In particular, the head of state said that, of course, he is an absolute democrat, and he noted that there are simply no other such people in the world. In the USA - torture and detention without trial, in Europe - severe dispersal of emigrants, in the post-Soviet space, he said, is even worse.
In conclusion, he lamented that there was no one else to talk to in the world after the death of the Indian politician and public figure Mahatma Gandhi. The full phrase is:
Am I a pure democrat? Of course, I am an absolute and pure democrat. But do you know what the trouble is? It doesn’t even matter, the tragedy is real. In the fact that I am so alone, there are simply no others like that in the world. Let's see what is happening in North America - there is only one horror: torture, the homeless, Guantanamo, detention without trial. Look what is happening in Europe: the ill-treatment of demonstrators, the use of rubber bullets, tear gas in one capital or another, and the killing of demonstrators in the streets. I'm not talking about the post-Soviet space at all. There was one hope for the guys from Ukraine, but they just completely discredited themselves, it’s just a complete tyranny. Complete violation of the constitution, all laws and so on. After the death of Mahatma Gandhi, there is no one to talk to.
Hard labour
Another vivid expression of the president, which immediately became a memorable idiom, was voiced in 2008 at a press conference in the Kremlin. This was the final communication of the head of state with journalists based on the results of his two presidential terms. The meeting lasted almost five hours; more than a thousand media representatives attended it.
Summing up the results of his work, Vladimir Vladimirovich said:
I am not ashamed of the citizens who voted for me twice, electing the president of the Russian Federation. All these eight years I have been plowing like a slave in galleys, from morning to night, and I did it with full dedication.
The quote about the slave in the galleys immediately hit the forefront of most federal publications. The idiom quickly took root in the Russian language, many jokes and demotivators were devoted to it, mainly on the Internet. For example, many Russians who misheard the phrase for the first time could not understand why a crab should work on galleys.
Contraceptives
Putin’s quotes about politics have also always been distinguished by their figurative language, remaining vivid and memorable for a long time. In the course of another “Direct Line”, already in December 2011, the hero of our article, who at that time was the Prime Minister, commented on the largest anti-government rallies in the history of modern Russia. They took place on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow.
In fact, a protest movement was launched after the December 4 State Duma elections. Participants in the rallies reported massive falsifications, violations and stuffing. One of the key slogans was “For Fair Elections!”, And a white ribbon was the symbol of the action. Protests took place throughout the country: in Moscow gathered up to 150 thousand people, in St. Petersburg - more than 25 thousand dissatisfied.
Putin scornfully disagreed. In particular, he said:
When I saw something like that on some breasts on the screen, I’ll honestly tell you, it’s indecent, but, nevertheless, I decided that this was propaganda for the fight against AIDS, that it’s such a pity, contraceptives were hanged.
In fact, white ribbons hung on the chest of the protesters, which the president mistook for condoms. At the same time, such statements did not prevent him from confidently winning the next round of presidential elections in March 2012.
