Dmitry Medvedev: Russia must return what's hers

It is important to understand where the Russian borders are outlined in our time and what they may look like in the future, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev said.

Speaking at Knowledge. The first Marathon of the Knowledge society, Medvedev said that territories on both banks of the Dnieper River were part of Russian strategic and historical borders. Therefore, all attempts to "forcibly change them, cut them off alive” are doomed, Medvedev said.

To expand, Medvedev quoted President Vladimir Putin.

"The president was succinct and to the point about our borders when he said: "Russia's borders do not end anywhere.” This is a very good quote,” Medvedev said.

Strategic boundaries of a particular state directly depend on how far its political power extends, how strong and sovereign this country is. For example, strategic borders of weakening states coincide with geographic ones.

Russia does not need someone else's land, but it will not give up on its own land, he added.

During his speech, Medvedev also said that the Russian administration had no plans to recreate the USSR. Russia does not have any territorial disputes with neighbouring countries either, he added.

"The near abroad, as a concept, is not just a figure of speech, but a reflection of the essence, a key point. We have no territorial disputes with the states included in this belt. Over the years since the collapse of the USSR, we have maintained profitable trade cooperation and comfortable interpersonal communication with them,” he said.

Speaking about Ukraine, Medvedev noted that its population was part of the all-Russian civilisation.

"One of the former leaders of Ukraine said once that Ukraine was not Russia. This concept must disappear forever. Ukraine is, of course, Russia," Dmitry Medvedev said.

Russia must return its historical lands, he also said.

"Dozens of generations of our ancestors had been building the Russian Empire for centuries — Great Russia, Little Russia and New Russia. These parts must return home,” he said.

Other states that recognise the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia thereby agree with the entry of the Donbass and Novorossiya into the country.

"These regions are an integral part of the Russian Federation, they are enshrined in our Constitution. Every state that recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, thereby recognises — I repeat, recognises — the entry of these regions into Russia,” he said.

There are countries that try to think differently, but this "is not so important,” Medvedev said.