PRESS RELEASE

Putin: We Must Never Allow a Color Revolution in Russia

Nov. 20, 2014 (EIRNS)—Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed an expanded Security Council meeting today in the Kremlin to discuss a draft document for a "Strategy for Countering Extremism in the Russian Federation through 2025." Just as Defense Minister Shoigu and Deputy Defense Minister Antonov yesterday in Beijing called for China and Russia to work together against "color revolutions," naming Hongkong and Ukraine, so Putin today said that Russia must do everything necessary to stop them.

"In the modern world", said Putin,

"extremism is often used as a geopolitical instrument to rearrange spheres of influence. We see the tragic consequences of the wave of so-called colour revolutions, the turmoil in the countries that have undergone the irresponsible experiments of covert and sometimes blatant interference in their lives. We take this as a lesson and a warning, and we must do everything necessary to ensure this never happens in Russia."

He distinguished legitimate protest from the "regime change" operations run from the outside: "As we assert our freedom of choice, the right to hold meetings, marches and rallies, we should not forget that we are responsible for our words and deeds. We must know and bear in mind that breeding conflict between people of different ethnicity and religion, propaganda of nationalist ideology, mass violations of public order on these grounds, and particularly calls for a violent overthrow of the existing regime are direct manifestations of anti-national thinking and extremism."