MOSCOW, September 28. /TASS/. The breakup of the Soviet Union turned out to be a huge tragedy due to many problems that followed, which have made the Russian people the biggest divided nation in the world, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with US TV anchorman Charlie Rose for the CBS and PBS channels.
Putin smiled at the remark that some see in Russia’s policy an attempt to recreate its former sphere of influence.
"Your questions make me happy. Somebody is always suspecting Russia of having some ambitions, there are always those who are trying to misinterpret us or keep something back. I did say that I see the collapse of the Soviet Union as a great tragedy of the XX century. Do you know why?" he said.
- Former USSR president says end of Cold War common victory
- Moscow outraged over Moldova's initiative to set up "war museum of Soviet occupation"
- Campaign against bill on 'Soviet occupation' launched in Latvia
- Russian driver denied entry to Lithuania over Soviet symbols
- Ukraine's capital to remove Soviet symbols by late August
"First of all, because 25 million of Russian people suddenly turned out to be outside the borders of the Russian Federation. They used to live in one state; the Soviet Union has traditionally been called Russia, the Soviet Russia, and it was the great Russia. They used to live in one country and suddenly found themselves abroad. Can you imagine how many problems came out?" Putin said.
"First, there were everyday issues, the separation of families, the economic and social problems. The list is endless. Do you think it is normal that 25 million people, Russian people, suddenly found themselves abroad? The Russians have turned out to be the largest divided nation in the world nowadays. Is that not a problem? It is not a problem for you as it is for me," he said.