Putin: Russia was on the verge of collapse in early 2000s
In the early 2000s, Russia was on the verge of collapse, and now it is protected from any encroachment from outside, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview on Rossiya-1 channel.
According to him, 20 years ago "there was every chance that this nefarious plan would have been put in action."
"It's not just in the Caucasus," Putin explained. "It was in the north, it was in the northwest, it was in the center, it was in the Urals - yes everywhere."
"In the so-called statutes or constitutions of different republics, in 60 of them, you could read anything, but not that they are part of the Russian Federation," the president said.
The number one task, he said, was to maintain the integrity of the Russian state, and this goal was achieved.
"We can say with full confidence that our country is absolutely protected from any encroachment from the outside," Putin said in an interview on the TV program “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin."
The goal in dividing Russia is to gain power over the country, he explained. "Divide, and then rule. This means that those who want to divide us want to rule over us. This can be used in relations between states or within an individual state with an attempt to destroy it from within," Putin said.