Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that he made a mistake in expecting the West to build constructive ties with Russia following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He clarified that, in truth, the West was intent on dismantling the nation rather than fostering positive relations, according to the Russian leader.

During an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin broadcast on Sunday, Putin conceded that he was a "naive" leader in the initial stages of his political career, despite his robust background in Soviet intelligence.

The Russian president said that he had believed that the West understood that Russia had become a completely different country after the collapse of the Soviet Union and that no further ideological differences were warranting a serious standoff.

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Putin asserted that even when he observed Western initiatives supporting terrorism and separatism in Russia two decades ago, he attributed it to the "inertia of thinking." He believed that it was a matter of the West being accustomed to combating the Soviet Union, and he considered this perspective to be a contributing factor.

In actuality, the president stated that the West was intentionally working to undermine Russia. "After the collapse of the Soviet Union, they thought they just had to wait a little longer, and then they would break Russia apart as well."

He said that the West perceived no necessity for the presence of the world's largest country, with its substantial population. "It would be better, as suggested by… [former US National Security Advisor Zbigniew] Brzezinski, to divide it into five parts and subjugate them one by one."

He clarified that this purported Western strategy relied on the idea that numerous smaller states "would have no weight or voice of their own, and would have no chance to defend their national interests in the way that the united Russian state has."

The Russian leader seemed to be alluding to a 1997 article written by Brzezinski, a staunch advocate of Soviet containment who passed away in 2017. In the article, Brzezinski proposed that Moscow should relinquish "a futile effort to regain its status as a global power." The former White House adviser also suggested that a "loosely confederated Russia, composed of a European Russia, a Siberian Republic, and a Far Eastern Republic," would find it easier to cultivate economic relationships with its neighbors.

Putin has consistently asserted that the West had intentions to partition Russia into multiple states. He cautioned that the Russian people might face extinction if such a scenario unfolded, emphasizing the critical importance of maintaining unity as a key condition for the country's success.

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