Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed during a documentary that was reported on by state-run news agency RIA Novosti over the weekend that he used to be a taxi driver to earn extra money after the fall of communist Russia.
“After all, what is the collapse of the Soviet Union? This is the collapse of historical Russia under the name of the Soviet Union,” Putin said, calling the collapse “the greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century.”
The Moscow Times reported:
The end of the Union brought with it a period of intense economic instability that plunged many into poverty, as newly independent Russia transitioned from communism to capitalism.
RIA Novosti, reporting from excerpts of the documentary, said Putin had revealed that he worked occasionally as a taxi driver to boost his income.
“Sometimes I had to earn extra money,” Putin said. “I mean, earn extra money by car, as a private driver. It’s unpleasant to talk about to be honest but, unfortunately, that was the case.”
Putin’s remarks come amid heighted tension with the West over his military build up near Ukraine in what many defense experts fear is a likely invasion.
“The Kremlin has been moving troops toward the border with Ukraine while demanding Washington guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO and that the alliance will refrain from certain military activities in and around Ukrainian territory,” The Washington Post reported. “While Ukrainian assessments have said Russia has approximately 94,000 troops near the border, the U.S. map puts the number at 70,000 — but it predicts a buildup to as many as 175,000 and describes extensive movement of battalion tactical groups to and from the border ‘to obfuscate intentions and to create uncertainty.’”
The build-up by Russia comes as it demands that the U.S. guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO and that NATO will not interfere in military activities around Ukraine.
“The Russian plans call for a military offensive against Ukraine as soon as early 2022 with a scale of forces twice what we saw this past spring during Russia’s snap exercise near Ukraine’s borders,” a U.S. official told The Post. “The plans involve extensive movement of 100 battalion tactical groups with an estimated 175,000 personnel, along with armor, artillery and equipment.”
The report said that based on Russia’s preparation, Russian President Vladimir Putin could quickly order an invasion, which might catch the U.S. and its NATO allies off guard. The report said that part of the way that Russia is enabling this quick invasion option is by leaving equipment behind near the areas where they would invade after they conduct training exercises in those areas.
ABC News’ Martha Raddatz said on Sunday that Putin has added more than 10,000 troops to his military build-up near Ukraine following his call with Democrat President Joe Biden, an obvious failure for Biden.