Vladimir Putin Democratic Quotations

NATO was built to counteract the Soviet Union in its day and time. At this point there is no threat coming from the Soviet Union, because there is no Soviet Union anymore. And where there was the Soviet Union once, there is now a number of countries, among them the new and democratic Russia.

There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy.

Russia does not and cannot have any political choice but democracy. I want to say, and even stress, that we share those universal democratic principles taken around the whole world.

Thanks in large part to you and your active, fruitful efforts, Russia achieved fundamental successes in building a democratic government based on the rule of law and a civilized civil society, as well as in reviving traditional spiritual values.