Putin's catchphrases are well known all over the world. He has long been considered an unsurpassed master of loud and harsh phrases that can simply shock many people, and also always cause constant public outcry. In this article, we will give several vivid examples that journalists most of all remember and made an impression on the inhabitants of the country.
Martyrs and victims of aggression
Putin's last catchphrase at the moment, which instantly spread all over the world's media, was uttered in October 2018 at a meeting of the Valdai discussion club, which was held in Sochi.
One of the topics of the plenary session, which was attended by the Russian president, was the prospect of a world nuclear war. The head of the Kremlin noted that the Russian concept of using nuclear weapons does not provide for the possibility of a pre-emptive strike at all. Many of those present were interested in whether Russia was ready to use its deadlypotential.
Speaking of a nuclear war, Putin noted that if it takes place, the Russians will be 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 the use of weapons of mass destruction, only if it is convinced that the aggressor is really striking at its territory. In a statement about nuclear war, Putin emphasized that Russia must be convinced of such an act of aggression, only after that it will decide on a retaliatory strike. Even though 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 around all the world's media. The statement was harsh, but unequivocal: the aggressor must know that retribution is inevitable. According to the president, in the event of an attack, the enemy will certainly be destroyed. Vladimir Vladimirovich said:
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, Pavlo Klimkin, said that his department had reasonable suspicions about the presence of nuclear weapons with the corresponding infrastructure in the territory of Crimea. And Russia is allegedly turning the peninsula itself into a large-scale military base.
With his phrase about heaven and hell, Putin finally set the priorities in international politics, which are currentlyexist in Russia. His eccentricity and rigidity will be remembered by everyone in the world for a long time. Like many of his other resonant statements.
Press conference in Astana
The current president of Russia became famous for his bright statements even before he became the head of state. Putin's first catchphrase, which went to 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. The day before, Russian aviation bombed Grozny.
When answering a question from ORT journalists, Putin's first known harsh statement was made.
We will chase the terrorists everywhere. At the airport - at the airport. So, you'll excuse me, we'll catch them in the toilet, we'll soak them in the toilet, in the end. That's it, the issue is finally closed.
The loud expression immediately became popular, flying around all the world's news agencies. After this speech, the idiom "piss in the toilet" took on a life of its own, everyone started using it at every opportunity.
Interestingly, many politicians reacted differently to it. For example, Gennady Zyuganov said that before someone is "drenched in a toilet", it is necessary to build a toilet. And in Russia over the past ten years not a single science-intensive modern plant has appeared, the communist leader complained. International journalist Alexander Rahr, who wrote the book "A German in the Kremlin", believed that Putin later regretted his emotional statement.
Interview with Larry King
In September 2000, Putin uttered his next catchphrase 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 Russian submarine Kursk crashed in the Barents Sea when it was less than 200 kilometers from Severomorsk. The crash happened on August 12th. As a result, the ship was at a depth of 108 meters. All 118 crew members on board were killed. It 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 replied:
She drowned.
This famous phrase by Putin has gained infamy. Because of her, he was often accused of cynicism and callousness.
Cudgel of power
September 2000 turned out to be fruitful for loud and resonant statements. It is noteworthy that they were made during interviews with Western journalists. After the meeting with Larry King, the Russian president answered questions from the authoritative socio-political newspaper Le Figaro. Then one of Putin's most famous phrases was uttered, which characterized his uncompromising policy for many years.
Unfortunately, she was overshadowed by many othersstatements. But in vain. It is believed that it contains the key to understanding both foreign and domestic policy of the president. But this is becoming 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 hits only once. But on the head.
Now many people actively recall these words of the president, noting for themselves that Putin did exactly this in all high-profile cases. During the Ukrainian crisis, the fight against terrorism, the "bog trial", the trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky or the case of the Pussy Riot group.
Question about circumcision
Among Putin's best words that many remember today are the words spoken in 2002 at a press conference following a summit between Russia and the European Union. Then one of the foreign journalists asked about the suppression of freedom of speech on the territory of the Chechen Republic. At the same time, he obviously meant the fight against the militants.
After listening to the reporter's question, the head of state said:
If you really want to become an Islamic radical and are ready to go to circumcision… then I invite you to Moscow. We have a multi-confessional country, we have specialists on this issue, and I will recommend them to do this operation in such a way that nothing else will grow in you!
Interestingly, foreign journalists did not immediately fully appreciate the essence of the President's phrase. Initiallythe interpreter who worked at the press conference translated it in a significantly softened way.
About envy
In 2006, Vladimir Putin met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. One of the topics at their meeting was the accusations leveled against Israeli President Moshe Katzava.
One of the employees of his former office brought charges of sexual harassment against her head of state. Katsav vehemently denied these allegations, filing a counterclaim with allegations of defamation. Soon the situation continued when journalists found out that there were statements from several more representatives of the weaker sex in law enforcement agencies who had previously worked with Moshe. They all talked about sexual harassment by the politician.
Putin spoke about this situation when it was still relevant. Moreover, he commented on sexual crimes quite unexpectedly.
Say hello to your president. 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 mostly did not appreciate the joke of the Russian president. Especially when it became known that the charges were justified. 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 go back on his words, saying that the true cause of the conflict lies in the dissatisfaction of a significant part ofIsraeli society by the decisions of their politicians.
They are eavesdropping
It is interesting that the situation described above continued. As it turned out later, initially Putin did not know that his statement about the Israeli president would be published.
About the journalists who made public his statement, he spoke in October 2006 during the "Direct Line". At the same time, he recalled how the representatives of the media were treated in the organization in which he worked earlier, referring to the special services.
Regarding the press, I can say that we joked when I worked in a completely different organization. They were sent to peep, and they eavesdrop. Ugly.
No one to talk to
In the summer of 2007, answering a question from a journalist from the German publication Der Spiegel, Putin launched into lengthy discussions about whether he is a pure democrat, as the correspondent noted.
In particular, the head of state said that, of course, he is an absolute democrat, noting that there are simply no others like him in the world. In the United States - torture and detention without trial, in Europe - harsh dispersal of emigrants, in the post-Soviet space, according to him, it is even worse.
In conclusion, he lamented that there was no one else in the world to talk to after the death of 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's wrong? It's not even a tragedy, a tragedyreal. The fact that I am so alone, there are simply no others like it in the world. Let's see what's going on in North America - the horror is the same: torture, the homeless, Guantanamo, detention without trial. Look at what is happening in Europe: the brutal treatment of demonstrators, the use of rubber bullets, tear gas in one capital and another, 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, there things are just going to sheer 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 work
Another vivid expression of the president, which immediately became a catchy idiom, sounded in 2008 at a press conference in the Kremlin. This was the final communication of the head of state with journalists following the results of his two presidential terms. The meeting lasted nearly five hours and was attended by over a thousand members of the media.
Summing up the results of his work, Vladimir Vladimirovich said:
I am not ashamed in front of the citizens who voted for me twice, electing me to the post of President of the Russian Federation. All these eight years I worked like a galley slave, from morning to night, and did it with full dedication.
The quote about a galley slave immediately hit the front pages of most federal publications. The idiom quickly took root in the Russian language, many jokes and demotivators were devoted to it,predominantly on the Internet. For example, many Russians who misheard the phrase for the first time could not understand why the crab should work on the galleys.
Contraceptives
Putin's quotes about politics have also always been distinguished by figurative language, remaining vivid and memorable for a long time. During 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, the protest movement was launched after the elections to the State Duma, which took place on 4 December. Participants of the actions declared mass falsifications, violations and stuffing. One of the key slogans was "For Fair Elections!", and the symbol of the action was a white ribbon. Protests took place across the country: up to 150 thousand people gathered in Moscow, more than 25 thousand dissatisfied people gathered in St. Petersburg.
Putin dismissively reacted to the speeches of those who disagree. Specifically, he said:
When I saw on the screen something like that on some people's chests, I'll tell you honestly, it's indecent, but, nevertheless, I decided that this was propaganda against AIDS, what are they, sorry, contraceptives hung up.
In fact, the protesters were wearing white ribbons around their chests, which the president thought were condoms. At the same time, such statements did not prevent him from confidently winning the next presidential election in the first round in March 2012.
Dvushechka
At the end of 2012, another resonant event took place in Russia, connected with opposition supporters. It was a trial against the domestic feminist punk rock band Pussy Riot. The team has existed since 2011, regularly holding various resonant actions on condition of anonymity.
Activists were found guilty of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. They were sentenced to two years in prison. Putin on this occasion said his famous words:
Contrary to my expectations, the case began to be promoted and brought to court, and the court gave them a couple of dollars. I have nothing to do with it. They wanted it, they got it.
As you know, in March 2012, activists Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich were detained on charges of hooliganism for the so-called punk prayer, which they held in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The action was called "Mother of God, drive Putin away!".
