Putin German | 'Alles Gut' - Putin Speaks German At Meet, Stuns Everybody, Then Laughs

Russian President Vladimir Putin engaged in a brief conversation in German with Maxim Zhitnikov, a citizen of the Federal Republic of Germany who has relocated to the Volgograd region of Russia, during a State Council Presidium meeting on developing housing infrastructure in Moscow on Tuesday. "I am a German citizen, married to a Russian woman, she is a Russian citizen. We have two children," Zhitnikov started in Russian. "We moved to Russia because of our children. Everyone knows that modern Europe, Germany is ahead of the world, promotes non-traditional values, but we do not share them and we do not want these so-called values to be imposed on our children." After sharing his background, Zhitnikov switched to his native German and requested the president's assistance in obtaining Russian citizenship. "We will stay in touch and solve the problem," replied Putin in German. "I wish you all the best." In August of 2024, the Russian leader signed a decree allowing for the issuance of three-month temporary residence permits, outside the usual quota, for foreigners who reject the 'destructive neoliberal ideological agenda' prevalent in their home countries.