Putin’s Speech at Valdai Club Amid Ukraine War: ‘Most Important Decade Since End of World War II’

The age of Western global dominance is becoming a thing of the past, and the world has the most important decade since the end of World War II ahead, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the Valdai international discussion club meeting Thursday Oct. 27.

In his speech, Putin underscored that Russia does not oppose Western elites and does not aspire for hegemony in the new multipolar world; he juxtaposed true integration to the Western “neo-colonial” globalization, and called to “build a symphony of the human civilization.” Answering the questions from the participants, Putin said he sees no point in relocation of the Russian capital or nationalization of businesses, made a joke about nuclear war and told a joke about freezing Germans.

FactCapsule: Hereafter are key points of the president’s speech and his key answers to questions.