Putin defines himself as democrat demanding order, observation of laws

MOSCOW. Dec 20 (Interfax) – President Vladimir Putin disagrees with the claims that he has built an authoritarian system in Russia.

“I think we have ensured stability as a mandatory condition of development. I think this is extremely important. Yet I cannot call this system authoritarian; I cannot agree with this thesis,” he told a grand press conference on Thursday.

A reporter asked Putin if “the strict and rather authoritarian regime” the president had built was viable and whether it hampered national development.

“Somehow, we get the impression that democracy means Trotskyism, anarchy. This is wrong. Bakunin was a wonderful man, a very smart man, but we need neither anarchy nor Trotskyism,” the president stressed.

Anarchy of the 1990s discredited democracy and market economy. “People started to fear that,” he added.

“I think that order, discipline and compliance with the letter of the law do not contradict democratic forms of government,” Putin emphasized.