‘I could write whole treatises on love and freedom’

Paraphrasing Putin's remarks today to a bunch of schoolkids in Sochi

On July 21, Vladimir Putin met with a studio audience packed with youngsters from Sochi's “Sirius School for the Gifted.” In a televised event, the president fielded a lot of very different questions, sharing personal thoughts about everything from nicknames to the formation of our solar system. Summarizing Putin’s remarks, Meduza paraphrases the president’s Friday performance in Sochi.

I haven’t decided yet if I’m stepping down as president next year. There’s no successor lined up. Certain political figures are trying to profiteer when it comes to corruption. That’s no good. The biggest event I’ve ever witnessed in my life was the collapse of the USSR. My three main values are life itself, love, and freedom. I could write whole treatises on these subjects. I don’t have time for Instagram. We should be wary about Bitcoins. You shouldn’t dodge military service. There’s nothing bad about feminism. My favorite composer is Mozart, and my favorite [self-defense] move is a hip-roll arm toss. In my life, I’d like to puzzle out a few mysteries: Where did the solar system come from? How has [history] changed over the ages? And how did Russia escape the Time of Troubles? Aggression is a sign of weakness. When I was in intelligence training, they called me Platov.