Bandera, Stalin, Princess Olga of Kyiv, Musk, and Orban: What Putin told Carlson about
Vladimir Putin, Russian dictator (photo: GettyImages)
The widely publicized interview of Vladimir Putin by American journalist Tucker Carlson turned out to be nothing more than another repetition of the Russian dictator's well-worn rhetoric. Putin talked about Stalin, complained about Bandera and Shukhevych, accused Ukraine of attacking Russia, and mentioned Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Overall, in the interview, which was hyped up by the entire Russian propaganda machine (right down to the coverage of Carlson's visit to Moscow's backstreets), Putin repeated everything that had been voiced countless times before. There were no surprises or insights that would have had any news value.
The interview began with a half-hour interpretation of Ukraine's history by Putin. The Russian dictator once again presented his version of the emergence of Ukraine to Carlson, ranging from Kyivan Rus' to the Soviet Union. Putin reiterated his narrative that Ukraine was created by Vladimir Lenin, but now, according to his version, Ukraine was formed by Joseph Stalin as a result of World War II. Putin devoted 25 minutes to presenting his own history, despite the fact that the interview itself lasted just over two hours.
During this historical briefing, the Hungarian prime minister was unexpectedly mentioned. Putin claimed that Hungarians in western Ukraine supposedly wanted to return to Hungary, but when Carlson asked if he had sent such proposals to Orban, he replied in the negative.
Putin also mentioned Princess Olga of Kyiv and Vladimir the Great, during his discussion with Carlson about how Russians, who are deeply rooted in Christianity, supposedly very loyally treat people of other faiths, and Russian authorities have always carefully treated other cultures and religions.
Of course, Putin and Carlson did not bypass the topic of the war that Russia unleashed in Ukraine. Putin made it clear that he does not want the war to end because he has not achieved the goals set. In this context, the Russian dictator again mentioned the so-called denazification and this time even explained its purpose, not forgetting about Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych. According to Putin, Ukrainians have made heroes out of Nazi supporters and now, for denazification, they must abandon this and prohibit Nazi organizations.
As before, Putin claims that he wants to peacefully resolve the conflict and is open to negotiations, but allegedly, they were rejected in Kyiv. According to Putin's version, the war started because of Ukraine itself, and overall, Russia did not attack anyone, neither in 2014 nor in 2022. Moreover, the dictator complained again that he was supposedly betrayed during the negotiations in Istanbul, justifying the withdrawal of Russian troops from Kyiv and the northern regions of Ukraine.
At the same time, the Russian dictator avoided Carlson's question about whether he was satisfied with the Ukrainian territory he managed to capture as a result of the war. Putin, deflecting the topic, continued to talk about Nazis in Ukraine, prompting Carlson to ask him again. However, he did not receive an answer to his question as expected.
In addition, Putin told Carlson a tale about how Russia was not admitted to NATO, the idea of creating a joint missile defense system for Russia, Europe, and the U.S., which he allegedly presented to former U.S. President George W. Bush, and about the fate of American journalist Gershkovich, who is currently behind bars in Russia, blaming the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) for the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines.
The Russian dictator also praised the owner of SpaceX, Elon Musk, calling him a smart person with whom it is necessary to find common ground and cooperate.
Earlier RBC-Ukraine reported on who Tucker Carlson is and why he came to Russia to meet with Putin.
