"Despite numerous attempts to demonize Russia, Russia is a democratic and a sovereign country. Certain problems stem from this fact, but it also results in major benefits," Putin said in the interview for the documentary series, partially aired by the US TV channel Showtime late on Tuesday.
The Russian leader added that there were not so many countries in the world that could enjoy their sovereignty to the full extent, as many nations had burdening themselves with the so-called allied obligations.
"Someone has a dream, someone wants to think that 'Putin's Russia Down.' These are just dreams. They do not correspond to the reality. The ones who write about it are aware of it," Putin said.
The president noted that the people leaving in the Western countries have different opinions on Russia.
"You know, there are different people. I think, there are people having different opinions both in Europe and the United States. There are people who look at least 25, 30, 50 years ahead, think of some issues, threats and have a different attitude to Russia. And there are people who live from election to election and only think of their own political interests," Putin said.
"Of course it is impossible to imagine that the ways of the United States, Germany and France will roll around tomorrow [in Russia]. The society and the government, as any living body, need to develop gradually. This is a normal development process," Putin said.
Putin noted as an example that the Russian state developed as a monarchy for almost a thousand years before the 1917, then communists took over, and the events that led to the new, democratic stage of Russia’s development only took place in the early 1990s.
