Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the World Russian People’s Council on Nov. 28, and both issued a very stark warning against those who would try to provoke ethnic conflict in Russia, and continued to elaborate, as he has in the past, on a totally contrary concept of Man and relations among nations. “A truly free person,” Putin told the gathering, “is a creator. We will support everyone’s aspiration to be useful to the country, society, and people. This is what sovereign development in the national interests is made of.”
The Kremlin site reported that “Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, as well as representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and other centralized religious organizations of Russia, government bodies, public associations, prominent academic and cultural figures took part in the event.”
Putin explained that he was not only discussing Russia’s future: “Without a sovereign and strong Russia, no lasting and stable international system is possible.… Our fight for sovereignty and justice is, without exaggeration, one of national liberation.… We are now fighting not just for Russia’s freedom but for the freedom of the whole world. We can frankly say that the dictatorship of one hegemon is becoming decrepit. We see it, and everyone sees it now. It is getting out of control and is simply dangerous for others. This is now clear to the global majority.”
