Interfax: Putin: all Russian citizens equal

MOSCOW. Dec 5 (Interfax) – President Vladimir Putin has stressed the legal equality of all citizens of Russia regardless of their ethnic origin or religion.

“More than 80% of our population are ethnic Russians, and they are without a doubt a nation-building people both culturally and simply from the point of view of demographics. But what makes Russia strong is that it is multiethnic and multi-religious,” Putin told a conference of the Russian Popular Front.

The only way to preserve this strength is “the equality of all citizens of the Russian Federation [all must be] equal regardless of religion or ethnicity,” he said. “This means that everyone must obey our laws and everyone must be equally accountable for violating these laws, regardless of their ethnicity or religion,” the president said. “Nobody can claim exclusiveness or demand any special rights for themselves.”