YOSHKAR-OLA (Russia) (Sputnik) — It is necessary to preserve the achieved inter-Ethnic harmony in Russian society, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
"As I have said many times, everything regarding national identity and traditions is a sensitive and very sensitive area, and we must act very delicately and wisely here," Putin said at a meeting of the Presidential Council for interethnic relations.
"In general, we have acquired considerable and, most importantly, positive experience in this sphere in the past years…Our task is to preserve the concord that has been achieved in the society," Putin stressed.
Putin also said that he condemns any manifestations of radicalism, including during election campaigns of any level.
"I condemn any manifestations of radicalism of how they sound. Of course, this also applies to various election campaigns of any level," Putin said at a meeting of the Presidential Council on interethnic relations.
The Russian leader has repeatedly stressed the necessity to maintain peace and harmony between the different ethnic and religious groups that have been living peacefully in Russia for centuries. At the previous meeting of the Council for Interethnic Relations, which was held in Russia's Astrakhan on October 31, 2016, Putin supported the idea of holding the Russian Nation's Unity Year in either 2018 or 2019, adding that it could become a uniting event that would have an impact on every ethnic group of the country.
The Russian population comprises about 180 nations, of whom ethnic Russians constitute about 80 percent, according to the 2010 national census. As of January 2017, the population of Russia is over 146 million including the population of Crimea, which joined Russia in March 2014 following a referendum.
