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Andrei Vandenko: (Sighs.)… Civil society.

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Vladimir Putin: Why did you sigh so heavily?

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Andrei Vandenko: Because the next question will be,

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why do the authorities prefer to communicate with the active part of society by using nightsticks?

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Vladimir Putin: That is not true.

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The most active part of society is not just the so-called non-systemic opposition

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 that breaks existing laws.

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Why do you reduce the active part of society like that?

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The active part of society is also about volunteers,

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and we have millions, millions of them.

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They too represent the active part of society –

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young, capable, active people working in all the different areas –

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education, healthcare, environmental protection.

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They actively help others, and this is great.

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You know, I sometimes look at them in awe,

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almost with tears in my eyes, because these people really do a great job. 

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There has always been and always will be a certain part of society in any country

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that disagrees with the authorities in power.

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And it is very good that such people exist.

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By the way, please note that if some revolutionary events occur,

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as a rule, those people who masterminded these events don’t stay in power for long.

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Very quickly they become uncomfortable with the authority their teeming activity has created.

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The Bolsheviks were perhaps the sole exception as they remained in power after the October coup d’état for a rather long time.

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But then… the whole Bolshevik thing fell apart and dragged the country along.

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But as far as the so-called non-systemic opposition is concerned,

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God bless them, I feel we need it.

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After all, you do understand this is not my first day on the job.

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I believe that we need them very much.

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I can see that they have a real influence on specific life,

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especially at the level of municipalities, major cities, and so on.

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Andrei Vandenko: Why weren’t they clamped down?

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Vladimir Putin: I will tell you why.

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Because there are rules for everyone to follow: 

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for those who like the authorities and for those who don’t, alike. 

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There is law and it should be observed,

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otherwise we will find ourselves in a situation 

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when the country is totally disbalanced.

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Do we want cars to be burnt in our streets?

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Andrei Vandenko: When was it that cars were burnt in our streets? 

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The last time it happened was after the defeat of our national team in Japan…

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Vladimir Putin: If there is no response, they will be burnt.

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Shop windows will be smashed to pieces 

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and people will be harmed.

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You want to express your viewpoint, your opinion,

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and you want to do it through public protest? 

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You are welcome to do so. The law permits it. 

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Get permission and go ahead.

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In some countries, in almost every country, even in European ones,

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unauthorised protests are punishable by incarceration.

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The prison terms are not very long, from 6 to 12 months.

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But, in some countries, unauthorised protests involving 12 people, I think, somewhere in Sweden, they are considered civil unrest.

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Those can get you 5 or 10 years behind bars.

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We don’t have that, you see?

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Andrei Vandenko: Well, three years.

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Vladimir Putin: Three is less than ten.

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Andrei Vandenko: That’s still quite a bit.

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Vladimir Putin: Quite a bit. So, do not break the law.

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Andrei Vandenko: That’s a separate topic,

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we can discuss it for a long time: 

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a request was filed, but not approved, then protestors took to the streets,  meant nothing bad, and so on.

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Then you will never make heads or tails of who hit whom. Who stole whose fur coat?

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Vladimir Putin: That’s not important who or whose.

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Seek to obtain such permission.

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It’s the same procedure abroad too,

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they too need permission and get it. 

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No permission – no protest. 

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No permission but you nevertheless go ahead with the protest – be ready to get ‘shaved’.

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Andrei Vandenko: Hm, ok.

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Vladimir Putin: Take a rest, relax a little…

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Andrei Vandenko; You mean crop close?

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Of course. What else?

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Andei Vandenko: For three years? Or five?

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Vladimir Putin: As the court rules.

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Andrei Vandenko: Court again?

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And the foreign agent status?

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Vladimir Putin: What about the foreign agent status? We were not the ones to invent it.

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Did we come up with the foreign agent status? Since 1938 or 1937, I think, since 1938, this law has been in effect in the USA, 

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they still use it.

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Andrei Vandenko: Why does it matter? I beg your pardon, but in certain countries, Jews were forced to wear yellow stars on their clothes.

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So? What difference does it make who invented what?

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Vladimir Putin: What do yellow stars have to do with any of this?

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Andrei Vandenko: But it’s a mark!

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Vladimir Putin: … and the Holocaust?

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No, there is a big difference.

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The United States of America is not Nazi Germany and it should not be blamed…

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Andrei Vandenko: I drew a parallel…

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Vladimir Putin: …for what it is not responsible at all.

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It was a bad parallel, unfair and having nothing to do with reality.

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Andrei Vandenko: Meaning we stand up for America?

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Vladimir Putin: I stood up for America – in this case, yes, I did it.

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But they invented this law and have been actively using it,

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including a very recent case.

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Our citizen, a woman (she later became quite famous)

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was jailed as a foreign agent.

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Excuse me, but she was facing a 12-year sentence there. Right?

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So what? They use it. We have no such thing.

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We only have an administrative penalty for this.

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And what is the purpose of that law? It exists simply to protect Russia 

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from external meddling in its politics. There is no other purpose.

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While some countries prohibit the activity of such organisations, 

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we don’t ban it. They are free to keep working.

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By the way, this practice is a well-established one.

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They continue to work.

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However, they are required to report if they receive funding from abroad 

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and are engaged in internal political activity.

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Nobody’s rights are being infringed on here whatsoever.

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There is nothing that runs counter to international practice.

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Some may be reluctant to say: yes,

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I am involved in domestic political affairs and I am doing that with the money I get from a foreign source,

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with foreign money. 

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But that’s not fair. They’d better admit it and continue their activity.

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So, the question is different. And there is a question.

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And I believe that human rights activists are right in drawing my attention to this.

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We need to have a very clear idea of what internal political activity is. 

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We need to ensure that there are no misconceptions.

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And we need to ensure that no other activity –

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involving humanitarian matters, for instance,

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public health or environmental protection –

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is used as a disguise to engage in domestic political affairs.

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Andrei Vandenko: So foreign agents exist only in politics?

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Vladimir Putin: Absolutely. This is only about domestic political activity and the funding of that activity from foreign sources.