A historic speech. "No matter how noble the goals, evil cannot be the means to achieve them" — Vladimir Putin

Historic speech. "No matter how noble the goals, evil cannot be its means" — Vladimir Putin

On September 25, 2001, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech in the German parliament — the Bundestag. This was the first time in history that a Russian head of state spoke from this podium. At that time, Putin had been in the presidency for only a year and a half, and he was on a state visit to Germany.

The speech was delivered exactly two weeks after the September 11 tragedy in the United States. Putin was one of the first foreign leaders to call the then-US President George W. Bush on September 11. At the same time, on September 24, a day before departing for Berlin, he announced on television that Russia supported the United States in the fight against terrorism.

Moscow stated its readiness to share intelligence and open an air corridor for humanitarian cargo planes. It also announced that it would assist the Northern Alliance fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Furthermore, Russia indicated that it would not object if Central Asian states provided military bases to the United States. In a word, the Kremlin openly demonstrated that it stood alongside Washington.

Russia itself had also faced terrorism during this period. In August 1999, armed groups from Chechnya invaded the neighboring Republic of Dagestan, marking the beginning of the Second Chechen War. Western countries had been criticizing the violation of human rights in this war. After September 11, Moscow sought to present the war in Chechnya as part of the common global fight against international terrorism.

In turn, there were also many unresolved issues between Russia and the West. Ten years had passed since the August 1991 coup attempt and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the hopes of the 1990s were gradually being replaced by mutual distrust. In 1999, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary became members of NATO, the military-political alliance led by the United States. The Baltic states were also envisioned in the next expansion. Moscow viewed this as a threat to its borders. In the same year, NATO bombed Yugoslavia without the authorization of the UN Security Council, and Russia strongly protested against this.

There was also disagreement on the issue of armament. Russia had ratified the START II treaty on the reduction of strategic offensive arms and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 2000. The US Senate, however, rejected the nuclear test ban treaty in 1999. In addition, President Bush's administration intended to build a national missile defense system. The Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, signed between the US and the USSR in 1972, restricted such systems. Moscow considered this treaty to be the cornerstone of strategic balance.

In a word, the 2001 Berlin speech was delivered at a moment when Russia and the West were closest to each other. In subsequent years, this closeness gradually disappeared.

I express my sincere gratitude for the opportunity to speak from the podium of the Bundestag. Such an opportunity has been created for the head of the Russian state for the first time in the history of Russian-German relations. This high honor shown to me today once again confirms that Russia and Germany are equally interested in mutual dialogue.

I am extremely pleased to have the opportunity to speak precisely here — in Berlin — about the prospects of Russian-German relations, the ties between my country and a united Europe, and the problems related to international security. This city, having experienced a complex destiny, has repeatedly become the center of conflicts that faced almost the entire world in the modern history of mankind; nevertheless, even in the darkest moments, no one was able to stifle the spirit of freedom and humanism founded here by Wilhelm von Humboldt and Lessing.

They failed to do so even during the difficult years of Hitler's tyranny. In our country, the memory of anti-fascist heroes is always remembered with high respect.

There has always been a special attitude towards Germany in Russia. Your country has been viewed as one of the most important centers of European culture — a culture to whose development Russia has also contributed significantly. This borderless culture has always been our common wealth and has brought our peoples closer together.

Therefore, today, please allow me to deliver the main part of my speech in the language of Goethe, Schiller, and Kant — in German.

After this, Putin continued his speech in German.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen!

I have just spoken about the commonality of European culture. However, in its time, this commonality could not prevent the outbreak of two terrible wars on the continent — two world wars within one century. Nor did it prevent the erection of the Berlin Wall, which became a grim symbol of the deep division in Europe.

Today, the Berlin Wall is gone. It has been razed to the ground. Today, it would be highly appropriate to recall once again how this happened.

I am convinced that without the fundamental prerequisites, the colossal changes in the world, in Europe, and in the territory of the former Soviet Union would not have occurred. More precisely, these would not have been realized without the events that took place in Russia 10 years ago. These events are of paramount importance in understanding exactly what transpired in our country and what can be expected from Russia in the future.

In fact, the answer is simple. Under the influence of the laws of development of the information society, the totalitarian ideology of the Stalinist model could no longer withstand the ideas of freedom and democracy.

The spirit of these ideas captured the minds of the absolute majority of Russian citizens.

It was precisely the political choice of the Russian people that ultimately enabled the then-leadership of the USSR to make the decisions that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was precisely this choice that expanded the boundaries of European humanism many times over and serves as the basis for us to boldly assert today that no one will ever be able to return Russia to the past.

As for European integration, we not only support these processes, but we also look at them with hope. We look at them as a people who well understand the lessons of the "Cold War" and how destructive the ideology of aggression is. However, it is worth adding here that, in my opinion, Europe itself did not benefit in any way from such division.

I firmly believe that in today's rapidly changing world, which is undergoing serious demographic shifts and experiencing unprecedented economic growth in certain regions, Europe is also directly interested in developing relations with Russia.

No one questions the high value of Europe's relations with the United States. I simply believe that if Europe can combine its capabilities with Russia's capabilities — human, territorial, and natural resources, its economic, cultural, and defense potential — it will secure its position as a powerful and truly independent center of world politics for a long term.

We have already taken the first steps in this direction together with you. Now is the time to think about what needs to be done so that a united and secure Europe becomes the prelude to the establishment of peace and solidarity throughout the world.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen!

In recent years, we have accomplished a lot in the field of security. The security system we created over the past decades has become more refined. One of the main achievements of the past decade is the unprecedentedly low concentration of armed forces and armaments in Central Europe and the Baltic region.

Russia is a peace-loving European country.

For our country, which has lived through a century of military catastrophes, the establishment of stable peace on the continent is the main goal.

As is known, we ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Biological Weapons Convention, as well as the START II treaty. Unfortunately, not all NATO member states followed our example.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, since we have raised the topic of security, we must first of all clearly understand from whom and how we must protect ourselves. In this regard, I cannot fail to mention the tragedy that occurred in the United States on September 11. People all over the world are rightfully asking the question: "How did this happen and who is to blame?" I will answer these questions.

It seems to me that we are all to blame for the tragedy that occurred. First and foremost, we, the politicians, to whom the ordinary citizens of our states entrusted their security, are to blame. This situation is, primarily, because we still have not realized the changes that have occurred in our world over the past 10 years. We are still living in the old system of values: we talk about cooperation, but in practice, we have not yet learned to trust each other.

Despite many sweet-sounding speeches, we are still covertly opposing each other. Sometimes we demand loyalty to NATO, sometimes we debate to what extent its expansion is appropriate. And on the issues of the missile defense system, we still cannot reach a consensus.

For decades of the 20th century, the world indeed lived under the conditions of confrontation between two systems — a confrontation that repeatedly brought humanity to the brink of catastrophe.

This was so terrible, and we became so accustomed to living in expectation of this catastrophe, that we are still unable to perceive and adequately assess the changes occurring in today's world. We seem not to notice that the world is no longer divided into two hostile camps.

The world, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, has become much more complex.

We do not want to admit, or we cannot understand, that the security system formed over the past decades and effective in neutralizing the threats of that era is unable to withstand new threats today. In many cases, we continue to debate over issues that still seem important. Perhaps they are indeed important.

But at the same time, we fail to notice new real threats and are powerless to prevent terrorist attacks. Moreover, such barbaric terrorist attacks!

As a result of explosions in residential buildings in Moscow and other major cities of Russia, hundreds of civilians were killed. Having seized power in Chechnya and taken ordinary citizens hostage, religious fanatics launched a brazen, large-scale armed attack on the neighboring Republic of Dagestan. International terrorists openly — absolutely openly — declared their intention to establish a fundamentalist state in the territory between the Black and Caspian Seas. That is, they wanted to establish a caliphate called the "united states of Islam."

I would like to emphasize immediately that I consider talking about some kind of "clash of civilizations" to be absolutely groundless.

In general, it would be a mistake to equate Muslims with religious fanatics. For example, in our country, the defeat of the aggressors in 1999 was ensured by the courageous and decisive blow of the people of Dagestan — a Russian republic whose population consists almost 100 percent of Muslim peoples.

Shortly before my departure for Berlin, I met with the religious leaders of Russia's Muslims. They put forward an initiative to hold an international conference in Moscow under the slogan "Islam against Terrorism." I think we should support this initiative.

Today, we are faced not so much with the aggravation of international problems already known to us, but with the emergence of new threats. Russia, in practice together with some CIS countries, is putting up a real barrier to drug trafficking, organized crime, and fundamentalism from Afghanistan through Central Asia and the Caucasus to Europe. Terrorism, national intolerance, separatism, and religious extremism have the same roots everywhere and bear the same poisonous fruits. Therefore, the means of combating these problems must also be universal.

But first, we must agree on the main issue: we must not be afraid to call things by their real names. It is also of paramount importance to realize that no matter how noble political goals may seem, evil cannot be the means to achieve them. Naturally, evil must be punished, I agree with this. However, we must also understand that no retaliatory strikes can replace a full-fledged, decisive, targeted, and well-coordinated fight against terrorism. In this regard, I fully support the opinion of the US President.

I think that the readiness of our partners to unite forces to fight precisely against real, not invented, threats shows how serious and reliable partners they are. These threats can easily sweep from the distant borders of our continent to the very heart of Europe. I have spoken about this many times, and after the events in the US, there is no longer any need to prove anything.

So, what are we lacking today to cooperate effectively?

Despite all the positive results achieved over the past decades, we still have not been able to develop an effective mechanism of mutual cooperation.

The coordinating structures established so far do not give Russia a real opportunity to participate in the process of preparing and making decisions. Today, decisions are often made, for the most part, without our participation, and then we are strongly demanded to support these decisions. After that, they talk about loyalty to NATO again. They even say that these decisions cannot be realized without Russia. Let's ask ourselves: is this normal? Is this what real partnership looks like?

True, establishing democratic principles in international relations, being able to find the right solution, and being ready for compromise is not an easy task.

However, it was precisely the Europeans who were among the first to realize how important it is to overcome national selfishness and seek consensus-based solutions. We fully agree with this! All of these are good ideas. But the quality of the decisions being made, their effectiveness, and ultimately the security of the whole of Europe and international security today depend on the extent to which we can reflect these obvious principles in practical politics.

Until recently, it seemed that a truly common home would soon rise on the continent, where Europeans would not be divided into eastern and western, northern and southern. However, it seems that these "dividing lines" will persist in the future. This is, first of all, because we still have not fully freed ourselves from many stereotypes and templates of the "Cold War."

Today we must decisively declare: the "Cold War" is over! We are at a new stage of development. We understand that without a modern, strong, and stable security architecture, we will never be able to establish an atmosphere of trust on the continent.

And without an atmosphere of trust, a single Greater Europe is absolutely impossible!

Today we must openly say that we renounce our stereotypes and illusions, and from now on, we will jointly ensure the security of the population of Europe and the entire world.

Dear friends!

Today, fortunately, Russia is not mentioned in Europe only in connection with oligarchs, corruption, and the mafia. Nevertheless, a significant lack of objective information about Russia still persists. I can say with firm confidence that the main goal of Russia's domestic policy is, first and foremost, to ensure democratic rights and freedoms, a decent standard of living, and security for its people.

However, distinguished colleagues, let's take a look at the events of the recent past: Russia went through a painful path of reforms. In terms of the scale of the tasks we had to solve, there has been no parallel in history. Naturally, mistakes were also made. Not all problems have been solved, but today Russia constitutes a rapidly developing part of the European continent. Moreover, it is developing rapidly not only politically, but also economically, which is particularly pleasing.

Political stability in Russia is ensured due to a number of economic factors and, in particular, one of the most liberal tax systems in the world. In our country, the income tax is 13 percent, and the corporate tax is 24 percent. This is indeed the case. Last year, economic growth was 8 percent, more precisely 8.3 percent. This year, it was planned to be limited to only 4 percent, but, in all probability, we will have this indicator at around 6 percent. Let's say, 5.5–5.7 percent. We shall see.

At the same time, I am convinced: only large-scale and equal pan-European cooperation will make it possible to achieve a qualitatively new breakthrough in solving such problems as unemployment, environmental pollution, and many others.

We are in favor of close trade and economic cooperation. We intend to become a member of the World Trade Organization in the nearest future. We hope that international organizations and European organizations will support us in this regard.

I want to draw your attention to aspects that you, as members of parliament, can undoubtedly assess better and which can by no means be called propaganda. In essence, priorities and values have changed in our state.

In the consolidated budget of 2002, social sector expenditures were put in first place. And I would like to emphasize in particular that for the first time in the history of Russia, education expenditures exceeded defense expenditures.

Distinguished colleagues!

Allow me to say a few words about Russian-German relations. I would like to dwell on this issue separately. The age of Russian-German relations is equal to the age of our countries. The first Germanic tribes appeared on the territory of Russia at the end of the first century. At the end of the nineteenth century, Germans were the ninth largest ethnic group in Russia. However, what is important here is not only their number, but also the role these people played in the development of the country and in Russian-German relations. They were farmers, merchants, intellectuals, military personnel, and politicians.

The German historian Michael Stürmer wrote: "Russia and America are separated by oceans, while Russia and Germany are separated by a great history." And I would say that history, just like oceans, not only separates but also unites.

The important thing is to be able to interpret this history correctly.

As a good western neighbor, Germany has often been for Russians the embodiment of Europe, European culture, technical thought, and mercantile skill. It is not without reason that in Russia, all Europeans used to be called Germans, and their settlement in Moscow was referred to as the German Quarter (Nemetskaya Sloboda).

Naturally, the cultural influence of both peoples was mutual. Many generations of Germans and Russians read the works of Goethe, Dostoevsky, and Leo Tolstoy, and today they continue to study them with great interest. Our peoples understand each other's psychology and worldview very well. The excellent translations of German authors' works into Russian are clear proof of this. They are masterfully translated very close to the text, fully preserving the tone of narration, the mood, and the charm of the original. It is enough to mention the translation of "Faust" made by Boris Pasternak as an example.

Ladies and gentlemen!

In our common history, there are various, and sometimes, especially when it comes to the twentieth century, quite painful pages. However, in the past, we were often allies.

Relations between these two peoples of Europe have always been strengthened through dynastic marriage ties.

In general, women played a special role in our history. For example, let's recall the daughter of Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse-Darmstadt, known in Russia as Grand Duchess Elizabeth. After her husband was assassinated, she founded a convent, and during the years of the First World War, she cared equally for the wounded — both Russians and Germans. In 1918, she was executed by the Bolsheviks, but she was recently rehabilitated and canonized as a saint for public veneration. Today, her monument stands in the center of Moscow. Let's also not forget Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst. Her name was Sophia Augusta Frederica, and she made an invaluable contribution to Russian history. The ordinary Russian people affectionately called her "mother." However, she entered history under the name of the Russian Empress Catherine the Great.

Today, Germany is Russia's main economic partner, our most important creditor, one of the main investors, and our main interlocutor in foreign policy issues.

I will give an example: last year, the volume of trade turnover between our countries reached a record level — 41.5 billion marks. This figure is equal to the total trade turnover of the Soviet Union with both German states. So, should we be satisfied with this and stop at the achieved result? I think not. The development potential of Russian-German cooperation is still very large.

I am convinced that today we are opening a new chapter in our bilateral relations. And in this way, we make our common contribution to building the pan-European home.

At the end of my speech, I would like to recall those words once said in relation to Germany and its capital. Applying this thought to Russia as well, I want to say that we, of course, are at the beginning of the path of building a democratic society and a market economy. On this path, there are obstacles and barriers that we must overcome. However, if we look past the objective problems and our occasionally visible inexperience, we can see how the powerful, vibrant heart of Russia is beating. And this heart is always open for genuine cooperation and partnership.