Under Vladimir Putin’s leadership, Russia has been saved from destruction. This is claimed by the Russian president himself in front of a larger crowd of journalists.

It is on Thursday that Russian Channel 1 broadcasts “The Year with Vladimir Putin”. A four and a half hour long program segment that, unsurprisingly, is about the past year.

“Surpassed Germany”

The “special military operation” in Ukraine and the Russian economy are two dominant points in the program. And if one is to believe Putin, things are going well for Russia in both cases.

“Our troops are recapturing square kilometers of terrain every day. I want to emphasize that, every day,” he says regarding the war in Ukraine.

Regarding the economy, Putin notes that there is high inflation in the country, but that the growth is also high and unemployment is at a record low.

In terms of purchasing power parity, it is pointed out that Russia is now the world’s fourth largest economy.

“We surpassed Germany last year, and this year we surpassed Japan,” says Putin, pointing to the low or non-existent growth in Europe.

“I saved Russia”

Several hundred journalists have gathered and hope to ask their questions to the president. And towards the end of the program, when it has been going on for over four hours, British BBC’s Steve Rosenberg gets the chance.

“I promised BBC,” Putin interrupts when the host Dmitrij Kulko wants to conclude the program.

Rosenberg asks if Putin believes that he has “taken care of Russia”, considering the sanctions, high inflation, demographics, the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian troops in Kursk, and NATO recently expanding with Sweden and Finland as new member states.

“Not only taken care of, we saved the country from the brink of abyss,” Putin responds, stating that Russia was on the verge of losing its independence before he came to power.

The Russian president compares with his predecessor Boris Yeltsin, whom he believes was treated in a condescending manner by the leaders of the Western world.

“I have done everything to ensure that Russia has become an independent and sovereign country, capable of making its own decisions based on its own interests,” says Vladimir Putin.