MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. Western countries actively worked with a "fifth column" in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, trying to break apart the country and separate post-Soviet states, President Vladimir Putin told a meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry’s board.

"After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the West immediately engaged in extensive activity within Russia, and with our 'fifth column' that we were dancing around, patting on the back, trying to sway towards some patriotic tune," Putin said. He mentioned, however, that there were different people among these turncoats. "Let us not paint them all in the same light," he added.

In addition, the West "actively worked with terrorists, including international organizations, and separatists to address the task of destabilizing Russia itself," Putin added. "In parallel - no less actively - [the West] acted in the post-Soviet space, pulling apart the newly formed independent states, the former republics of the USSR," Putin pointed out.