Vladimir Putin has referred to the West as being ‘halfwits’ who will fall short of defeating Russia.
He disparaged his ‘adversaries’ as ‘neo-colonialists’ for supporting Ukraine while disregarding his own imperialist attempt to invade and conquer the nation, which cost hundreds of thousands of lives.
The Kremlin autocrat asserted that Russia‘s multinationalism was its strength while appearing slumped and pallid.
In a deranged speech at the Council for Interethnic Relations, he said: ‘Our state was built around the values of multinational harmony…
’Our enemies….people with neo-colonial thinking, half-wits really – do not understand that this diversity makes us stronger.
’In vain they count on the effect for which they are trying.
’Well, I already said that people who are guided by their neo-colonial ideas are half-wits.
’And in the competition of halfwits, they would take second place.
’Why only second? Yes, because they are halfwits.’
He waited for his loyalists to laugh at his supposed joke but it appeared only his deputy chief of staff Sergey Kiriyenko found it in any way funny.
Putin claimed the more sanctions were imposed on Russia, the more consolidated people would become behind him.
He claimed 90 per cent of society now backed him.
Contradicting himself, he demanded yet more cohesion.
‘[My opponents] say that Russia should be divided into dozens of small state entities and it is quite obvious what for,’ he said.
‘In order to later bend them to their will, exploit, use in their selfish interests. They have no other goals.’
He reportedly travelled to Pyatigorsk in the Caucasus for the council session but then addressed an audience substantially online – his trademark method of communicating with his functionaries.