Putin says Russia, USA have ‘practically no’ ideological antagonisms

(Interfax – June 11, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he cannot see any fundamental ideological antagonisms between Russia and the USA, and could explain many existing divergences by differences in mentality, privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported on 11 June. According to the report, Putin made the statements while answering questions fielded by journalists of the state-owned RT (Russia Today) channel.

“We have practically no ideological antagonisms as of today. We have fundamental culturological (antagonisms – Interfax). At the basis of American consciousness lies the individualist idea, at the basis of Russian, collectivist one,” Interfax quoted Putin as saying when answering questions about prospects for building Russian-US relations.

Putin also said that it was “quite difficult” for Russians and Americans to understand each other, but it was “possible”.

Interfax said that while talking about differences in the mentality of Russians and Americans, Putin quoted a number of examples and unexpectedly recalled Stalin.

“Today we got to know Stalin in the way that we had not known him before. In the past it was a dictator, a tyrant. But I very much doubt that in the spring of 1945 Stalin would have used a nuclear bomb against Germany, if he had had it. In 1941-1942, when it was a question of life or death for the state, he would perhaps have used (it). But in 1945, when the enemy was in fact surrendering and it had no chances – I doubt. But the Americans used (it) against Japan, which was suffering defeat, moreover, against a non-nuclear state,” Interfax quoted Putin as saying.

Having said that there are great differences between Russia and the USA, Putin added that “it is normal when people who have such great differences are full of determination to look for ways which help to understand each other”. “And it seems to me that we have no other choice. After all, it is not accidental that at critical moments of modern history Russia and the USA were uniting. (They) were opposing one another and when the lightning struck (they) united… (ellipsis as published) We should primarily pay attention to this,” Interfax quoted Putin as saying.