Putin compares himself to Czar Peter the Great: What we get is the restoration of our lands

Russian President Vladimir Putin likened his policy to that of the Fifth Czar of Russia, Peter the Great, when he was fighting Sweden and conquering part of its lands, Finland, parts of Estonia and Latvia.

"We just visited an exhibition dedicated to the 350th anniversary of the birth of Peter the Great," Putin said during a meeting with young entrepreneurs in Moscow. "It is amazing, as if nothing had changed (...) Peter the Great fought the Northern War for 21 years. There is an impression that through a fighter Sweden took something. He didn't take things he took back."

"When he established a new capital (St. Petersburg), none of the countries of Europe recognized that these lands belong to Russia. The whole world considered it part of Sweden," noting that the Slavic groups lived there alongside the Finno-Hungarian groups, adding, "He was going restoration and consolidation.

"It seems that we have to take back and consolidate," Putin said, referring to Russia's attack on Ukraine.

"Yes, there are periods in the history of our country when we were forced to retreat, but only to restore our strength and move forward," the Russian president added.

Sweden's defeat in the Great Northern War (1700-1721) made Russia a major power in the Baltic Sea and an important player on the European stage.

On Thursday, Russia celebrated the anniversary of the birth of Tsar Peter the Great, who worked on the rapprochement between the empire and Europe, which completely contradicts the current reality, as there is currently a rupture between Russia and the West over the conflict in Ukraine.

To celebrate the 350th anniversary of the birth of Peter the Great, who ruled first as a tsar and then as emperor from 1682 until his death in 1725, Putin visited an exhibition dedicated to him in Moscow.

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