First Person

by Vladimir Putin

  He has a natural charm.

  Probably. If you don’t have natural charm, it’s very hard to learn it. I know that for sure.

  Who else have you met personally?

  Kohl, Thatcher, Major.

  Was that back when you were working in Petersburg?

  Yes.

  Did you speak German with Kohl?

  He met with Sobchak for about 30 minutes. I translated. They were the most general kind of remarks, about nothing really. We were at lunch. He had said, “Let’s not talk about anything serious. Come to Bonn in about three weeks, and we’ll talk about everything.”

  Later, Sobchak took him up on the offer, and took me along with him. It was a business trip. You know what surprised me the most? I didn’t expect any major European political figure would know Russia so well and so deeply. That simply amazed me.

  Now I can’t recall everything that he said, but I do remember my own feelings. I was impressed by Kohl’s deep knowledge of Russian history and contemporary life. He understood the essence of the events taking place. And it was especially gratifying to hear him say that he couldn’t imagine a Europe without Russia. He said that the Germans were not only interested in the Russian market but in becoming worthy partners with Russia.

  But maybe he was just using polite phrases.

  No, I don’t think so. These were not just the protocol phrases. I was convinced that he really felt what he said.

  Such a strong leader, and such a scandal after his resignation! It’s strange.

  There’s nothing strange about it. In fact, the Christian Democratic Union had grown weak and it was defeated.

  Obviously, the leadership made mistakes. But after 16 years, any people—including the stable Germans—get tired of a leader, even a leader as strong as Kohl. It just took them a while to realize it.

  Now you’ve arrived in the Kremlin, which in recent times has been linked to scandal after scandal of its own—Borodin and Mabetex,35 the “Family” money36 T. . . You’ve been strangely silent about all this, and people are conjecturing that it’s because the “Family” brought you in and that, in gratitude, you are putting out all the fires.

  I never had any special relations with the people close to the president. And it would be very risky to trust such a serious matter as “putting out fires” to a little-known person.

  It can’t be that risky if you appointed Borodin to the post of state secretary for Belarus and Russia.

  I didn’t appoint him. I proposed him, and he was selected.

  Even though he has a trail of scandalous accusations behind him? You don’t believe that you should have investigated the scandals first, before nominating him for an official post?

  I believe what is written in the law. There is a golden rule, the fundamental principle of any democratic system, and it is called “the presumption of innocence.”

  But nothing was proven in court in the case of Prosecutor General Yuri Skuratov,37 and that didn’t prevent him from being dismissed.

  Skuratov was removed from his position in full compliance with the law, which states that during the period of investigation of a case opened against the prosecutor general, he must be removed. That’s what happened.

  Do you suppose that if the investigation doesn’t find anything, he’ll be reinstated?

  Theoretically, yes. But there is more at stake here than just the criminal and legal aspects. There is a moral aspect as well. I am clear on the moral side of the story. I know the facts exactly. He and I spoke about this.

  Then why did he later deny the story again?

  Because he didn’t want to be compromised, that’s all.

  A newspaper reported that Skuratov wrote his second letter of resignation after you worked him over. They also said that compared to you, the cellars of the FSB headquarters in Lubyanka seemed like paradise.

  This is all nonsense.

  But what happened?

  The four of us met: Boris Nikolayevich, Prime Minister Primakov, myself, then director of the FSB, and Skuratov.

  Boris Nikolayevich took out the videotape and the photographs made from the videotape. He just put them on the table and said, “I don’t think that you should work as the prosecutor general any longer.”

  Primakov agreed: “Yes, Yuri Ilyich, I think that you had better write a letter of resignation.” Yuri Ilyich thought for a while. Then he took out a piece of paper and wrote that he was resigning.

  If you were in a similar situation, how would you have acted?

  If I thought that my personal behavior was incompatible with my professional duties, of course I would leave. I am certain that the position of prosecutor general, for example, is incompatible with a scandal like this.

  And the position of prime minister?

  Prime minister? Strange as it may sound, it would be less serious. A prosecutor is different. A prosecutor should be a model of morality and scruples, because he is the one who ensures that all citizens comply with the law—the prime minister, the president, and everyone else.

  Another question—this one, related to the heroines of this story. Should we fight prostitution?

  Through social and economic means.

  What kind?

  We need for people to live normally. After World War II, prostitution flourished in Western Europe because people were poor. Talk to the veterans of World War II and they will tell you that women gave themselves away for a chunk of bread. Prostitution arises out of poverty and desperation. If you live a normal life, if the economy develops, if the standard of living rises. . .

  In Germany there is already a high standard of living, and there’s plenty of prostitution. It’s even legalized.

  But there are only foreign women in the brothels. There aren’t any Germans.

  How would you know?

  So I’ve been told . . . by people like yourselves from the licentious professions.

  Alright. So maybe there are no Germans, but there’s prostitution.

  There is prostitution. I’m talking now about the nationality of the participants. They’re all operating openly. And there are no Germans among them, because the standard of living in the country is very high.

  So are you for or against the legalization of prostitution?

  I don’t think that prostitution should be legalized. You have to combat it with social and economic methods. Then no one will want to go into prostitution. Why—are you in favor of legalization?

  Well, you could have doctors in the brothels, then. And the girls would not be ripped off, or mistreated.

  You have a kind heart.

  Whose proposals do you listen to, and who do you trust? You said that your goal in the first year is to formulate a team. Who is on your team?

  Trust? Sergei Ivanov, Secretary of the Security Council.

  Have you known each other for a long time?

  I’ve known him for a long time, but not very well. We began working together in the Leningrad Directorate of the KGB. At that time I only knew that he existed. Then he went to Moscow, and did several long stints abroad. We had many friends in common. I heard stuff about him from all different people, and it was positive. He knows several languages: English, Swedish, and Finnish, I think. And I think that he is in the right job. He recently returned from the States, where things went very well. He met with Clinton, Albright, and Berger. I’m happy with his work.

  But there isn’t anyone you’ve spent a lot of time with.

  Of course, it is always better to have had the benefit of direct experience working together. But let’s agree that there is such a thing as comradeship. I get that feeling with Ivanov and with Nikolai Patrushev and also with Dima Medvedev.

  Medvedev is heading your election campaign. Is he also from Peter?

  He taught civil law at Leningrad University. He has a doctoral degree in jurisprudence and is a fine expert. I needed some people when I worked with Sobchak in the mayor’s office. I went to the law faculty for help, and they suggested Dim
a. When I was deputy mayor, Dima was my adviser, and he worked with me for about a year and a half. Then, after our unsuccessful elections, he left the mayor’s office and went back to the university.

  You recently invited him to Moscow?

  Just this year. Actually, I had originally planned for Dima to head up the Federal Securities Commission. He is a specialist in the securities market. He seems to like to working on our team, but we haven’t yet decided specifically where to use him.

  Who else?

  I trust Aleksei Kudrin. He is now first deputy minister of finances. I think that he’s a decent and professional guy. We both worked for Sobchak and we were both his deputies. In years of working together, you can learn a lot about a person.

  And where did Igor Sechin come from?

  Sechin also worked with us in Petersburg, in the protocol department. He is a philologist by training. He knows Portuguese, French, and Spanish. He worked abroad, in Mozambique and Angola.

  Was he in combat?

  Yes. Then he landed on the executive committee of the Leningrad City Council. When I became deputy mayor and was choosing my staff, I considered a lot of people, and I liked Sechin. I suggested that he come to work for me. This was in 1992-1993. And when I went to work in Moscow, he asked to come along, so I brought him with me.

  Now what will happen with the old guard in the Kremlin? Everyone says, just wait, Putin will win the elections and he’ll be free of them. In the best case, he’ll fire them.

  You know, that kind of logic is characteristic of people with totalitarian mentalities. That’s how they expect a person to behave if he wants to remain in his post the rest of his life. But I don’t want that.

  But there are some figures that the public has a uniformly negative reaction to, such as Pavel Borodin. Then there’s also the chief of the presidential administration, Aleksandr Voloshin. He’s not beloved by the public.

  Voloshin is not well liked by the public, or by a part of the establishment. As groups and clans fought among themselves, a negative feeling emerged. Voloshin was not immune to it. And these clans fought dirty. I don’t think that’s a basis for firing someone. Voloshin suits me just fine for today. The work he is doing is rather particular. We discussed who could be put in his place, and we considered Dima Medvedev. Voloshin himself said, “Let Dima work as my deputy, and then, when he grows into the job, let him be considered as my replacement.” There’s no sense in second-guessing it now.

  But it does make sense to respond to the public’s criticism of officials in the Kremlin and the entourage of the former president.

  I, too, have worked for the state for a long time. Am I in the entourage, or not? These questions are all about appearances. The individual, with his knowledge, his professional abilities, and his talents, is worth far more. I will be guided by whether a person fits the post he occupies or not. That’s the most important thing.

  In any event, I’m not president yet. First I have to win the elections. And to be honest, I’m a superstitious person, so I try not to think about these things ahead of time. Do you think I should?

  You thought you might have to pay for this war with your career, but you became acting president instead.

  It probably helped that I didn’t want the president’s job.

  And when Yeltsin said that he planned to resign before the end of his term, you didn’t say, “No, what are you doing, Boris Nikolayevich?!”

  No, I didn’t try to talk him out of it; but I also didn’t dance with joy and thank him and assure him that I would justify his faith in me. My first reaction was “I’m not ready for this.”

  When I was appointed prime minister, it was interesting and it was an honor. I thought, “Well, I’ll work for a year, and that’s fine. If I can help save Russia from collapse, then I’ll have something to be proud of.” It was a while stage in my life. And then I’ll move onto the next thing. About two or three weeks before New Year’s Eve, Boris Nikolayevich invited me into his office and said that he had made the decision to resign. I would become the acting president. He looked at me and waited to see what I would say.

  I sat in silence. He started to explain it in more detail—that he wanted to announce his resignation before New Year’s . . . When he stopped talking, I said, “You know, Boris Nikolayevich, to be honest, I don’t know if I’m ready for this or whether I want it, because it’s a rather difficult fate.”

  I wasn’t sure I wanted such a fate. . . . And then he replied, “When I came here, I also had other plans. Life turned out this way. I, too, didn’t strive for this, but in the end, circumstances forced me to fight for the post of president. Well, I think your fate is forcing you into a decision. Our country isn’t so huge. You’ll manage.”

  He paused and became lost in thought. I realized this was hard for him. On the whole, it was a depressing conversation. I had never thought seriously that I might become his successor, so when Boris Nikolayevich told me about his decision, I wasn’t really prepared for it.

  But I would have to respond one way or the other. The question had been put to me: yes or no? When the conversation went off on a tangent for a while, I thought I was off the hook. I thought that it was all forgotten. But then Boris Nikolayevich looked me in the eye and said: “You haven’t answered me.”

  On the one hand, there were my own internal arguments. But there was also another logic. My fate was allowing me to work at the highest level in the country and for the country. And it would be stupid to say, “No, I’d rather sell seeds” or “No, I’m going into private law practice.” I could always do those things later. So I decided I would do it.

  Katya:

  I flipped out when I heard that Papa was going to become acting president. When Mama told me this, I thought she was joking. Then I realized that she wouldn’t joke about such a thing. Then the phone kept ringing, and everyone was congratulating us. Our classmates, and even the school principal. She teaches us English. At midnight we turned on the TV and saw Papa shaking people’s hands. I liked that. He was so serious . . . or calm. Really, just like always. Papa is Papa. On the one hand, I want him to become president. On the other, I don’t.

  Masha:

  On the one hand, I don’t want him to become president, and then on the other, I do want it. We also listened to Boris Nikolayevich speak that day. My throat started to hurt. Not like when you have a cold, but a different way. He really got to me.

  Lyudmila Putina:

  I learned about Boris Nikolayevich’s resignation on the afternoon of the 31st, My girlfriend called me and said, “Have you heard?” I said, “What is it?” So I learned it from her. I cried for a whole day because I realized that our private life was over for at least three months, until the presidential elections, or perhaps for four years.

  So, do you want to be president or not?

  When I began to work as the acting president I felt . . . a satisfaction—perhaps that’s not the best word—in making decisions independently, knowing that I was the last resort and that a lot depended on me. The responsibility was on me. Yes, I took pleasure in feeling responsible.

  I have some rules of my own. One of them is never to regret anything. Over time, I came to the conclusion that this was the right thing to do. As soon as you start regretting and looking back, you start to sour. You always have to think about the future. You always have to look ahead. Of course you have to analyze your past mistakes, but only so that you can learn and correct the course of your life.

  Do you like that kind of life?

  You have to gain satisfaction from the process. We live each second, and we can never live that second all over again.

  You say that so seriously, as if you’ve never committed any thoughtless stupidities, or wasted time on trivia.

  I have done stupid things and wasted my time.

  For example?

  Okay. Once I was driving with my senior coach from Trud to a base outside Leningrad. I was in university at the time. A truck with a load o
f hay was coming from the other direction. My window was open, and the hay smelled delicious. As I drove past the truck on a curve, I reached out the window to grab some straw. The car suddenly swerved . . . Whoops! The steering wheel turned, and we were headed toward the rear wheel of the truck. I turned the wheel sharply in the other direction, and my rickety Zaporozhets went up on two wheels. I almost lost control of the car. We really should have ended up in a ditch, but fortunately, we landed back on all four wheels.

  My coach sat there, frozen speechless. Not until we pulled up at the hotel and he got out of the car did he look at me and say, “You take risks.” Then he walked away. There is some stupid stuff like that. What drew me to that truck? It must have been the sweet smell of the hay.

  Vladimir Putin’s “Russia at the Turn of the Millenium” is available on the PublicAffairs website at www.publicaffairsbooks.com. In this treatise, Putin analyzes the current challenges faced by Russia and proposes measures to improve Russia’s future. The treatise first appeared on the website of the Government of the Russian Federation on December 31, 1999, while Putin was prime minister and acting president of Russia.