Russian servicemen prevented chaos and civil war, that always follow armed mutinies, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with servicemen of the Russian defense ministry.
"I want all of us to understand what has happened and what would have happened if you had not done what you did and fulfilled your military duty, showing your loyalty to your oath and to the Russian people. As always, armed mutinies are followed by total chaos and civil war," the head of state said.
He stressed: "That's what you prevented, that's what your role was." "And for that, as commander-in-chief, I want to express my gratitude to you," Putin concluded. He recalled that earlier today he had met with servicemen and security forces in the Kremlin's Cathedral Square and thanked them for their readiness to repel the armed mutiny. "But a special role in this, of course, was played by you, you and your comrades. And special thanks to you for that," the president said.
He drew special attention to the military's efforts to avoid civilian casualties. "Unfortunately, you had to work in very difficult conditions in order to avoid civilian casualties, because you had to work on busy highways," said the head of state.
At the same time, he added, "it is even more regrettable that we have casualties." "These are, of course, combat casualties - there is no other way to put it. Our comrades died defending the homeland. I am saying this without any pathos or exaggeration," Putin stressed.
Speaking of the well-coordinated actions of the military who were able to suppress the mutiny, he once again stressed: "Chaos in the country would have been inevitable, and of course the enemy would have taken advantage of it." According to the president, the enemy "is trying to do it anyway, but it is not working." "And, hopefully, nothing will work, I'm even sure of it. But for sure - [they] would have taken advantage. We don't know what would have happened to the country in the end, but all the gains made during the fighting would have been lost. And you didn't let that happen," Putin concluded.
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Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS