Former German chancellor identifies main focus of Russian leader's policy

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has given an extensive interview discussing Russian President Vladimir Putin.

She accuses him of failing to understand the "boom of freedom" and the opportunities it presented, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media. 

Merkel stated that the Russian people “do not have a good life under his leadership” and expressed her hopes for them to have “a democratic and prosperous future”.

Reflecting on her time in office, Merkel recalled: “I very often thought about how we can bring democracy to Russia.” In light of the war in Ukraine and Putin's broader foreign policy, she suggested that his actions stemmed from frustration over the collapse of the Soviet Union and the loss of Russia’s global influence after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Merkel observed: “Putin is somebody who, as a president, was seen by the Russians to lead them out of chaos, out of this superiority through the oligarchs, the fact that the economy was collapsing by transitioning it to a market economy.”

She emphasized that the Russian people wanted stability, fair wages, and an economy that could combat the high inflation rates of the past.

The former German chancellor recalled a striking statement from Putin: “The worst event to him of the 20th century was the collapse of the Soviet Union."

Merkel responded candidly: "I thought Nazism and National Socialism was the worst event of the 20th century." 

She continued: “He wanted to turn Russia into an important power again. That was what he was after all the time.”

However, Merkel suggested that Putin, with limited understanding of economics, turned to methods learned during his time in the KGB. “He was actually able to domesticate, if you like, the oligarchs, to tame them. They were allowed to operate, but only under him.”

By Naila Huseynova