For Putin the disappearance of the Soviet Union was a tragedy

Moscow, Dec 12 (Prensa Latina) Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the disappearance of the Soviet Union represented a tragedy for him, as well as for most of the country's citizens, in an interview broadcast on Sunday.

The president’s statements were part of the documentary “Russia, Contemporary History”, aired on Sunday by Rossiya 1 television channel.

Putin commented that European countries saw the disintegration of the USSR as an inevitable process. In his opinion, the only thing that concerned them was its consequences, both for Russia, its own territories and the world in general, since it was a great nuclear power.

For the president, the situation in the country in the 1990s was “very difficult” in all layers of the State, including the economy, compliance with laws and the Armed Forces. “Basically, the country was living a civil war,” he said.