Last Updated on December 21, 2019
Russian President Vladimir Putin has blasted Western liberalism as “obsolete” and called out attitudes towards gay rights, immigration and multiculturalism in Western countries.
In the attack on liberalism, the Russian leader said that the dominant ideology had “outlived its purpose” and that Europe had elevated the rights of migrants to the point where “kill, plunder and rape with impunity.”
The Russian president, in the brief interview, slammed Europe’s decision to allow millions of migrants to relocate to the continent, which has, consequently, caused numerous issues ranging from terrorism to a spike in sexual assault cases.
President Putin then said that ‘the liberal idea’ had expired, referring to a populist rejection of current elitist liberalism which has had to become increasingly censorious and totalitarian to preserve its shaky global order.
The Russian president said that “no problems with LGBT persons… but some things do appear excessive to us,” according to the Mirror, but suggested that the push for LGBT rights were an attack on “traditional family values.”
“They claim now that children can play five or six gender roles,” he went onto say.
“Let everyone be happy, we have no problem with that. But this must not be allowed to overshadow the culture, traditions and traditional family values of millions of people making up the core population.”
He continued, saying that Angela Merkel had made a “cardinal mistake” in opening her country’s border to a million migrants at the height of the Migrant Crisis.
He said: “[Liberals] cannot simply dictate anything to anyone just like they have been attempting to do over the recent decades.
“This liberal idea presupposes that nothing needs to be done. That migrants can kill, plunder and rape with impunity because their rights as migrants have to be protected.
“Every crime must have its punishment. The liberal idea has become obsolete. It has come into conflict with the interests of the overwhelming majority of the population.”
The Russian leader made these pronouncements at the G20 summit in Osaka, earlier this year.