Putin: 'Wouldn't give 10 kopecks for the health of somebody who disrespects the Koran'

 

Putin: 'Wouldn't give 10 kopecks for the health of somebody who disrespects the Koran' (Moscow Times)   Putin's way of calling for mutual respect. He also said the ethnic clashes might lead to tightening regulations on immigration, particularly to the big cities. Via ITAR-TASS: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the murder of Spartak fan Yegor Sviridov is a tragedy and an attack on the whole community of Russia's soccer fans. "You should treat it as an attack against all of you, regardless of the place of residence, ethnicity or religion. Muscovite Yegor Sviridov was killed. It's a big tragedy," Putin stated at a meeting with fan clubs' representatives on Tuesday. (...) He said he was motivated by the concern that the immunity to nationalism and xenophobia might be weakening, which shows at stadiums. Now that the whole world is open, different teams have players from different countries. "The country that isolates itself, comes to nought," he said, "an open country cannot be nationalistic." "Each has his small Motherland, we're proud of it. I wouldn't give ten kopecks for the health of the person from central Russia, who displays impoliteness towards the Koran in a North Caucasus republic. But people from the North Caucasus, while coming to other regions, should have respect for the local culture, customs and laws, too," Putin underlined. "It is only this way, by respecting each other, that we'll be using the advantages of our common Motherland, our diversity," the premier underlined. In his opinion, Russia's advantage is its ethnic diversity. "Our peoples have developed a certain culture of relationship and respect for each other. It's always been our strong point," he said. (source)