President Putin likes reading history books

President Putin revealed that he enjoys reading history books despite having little free time.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Tass.

"I like reading history books. As a leader, I like to find out what my predecessors thought before making decisions, what their goals were and what results they achieved. I evaluate history and past events in that way," Tass quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying today at an event marking the 50th anniversary of the broadcast of Channel 1's Vremya evening news program.

President Putin shared that he has little free time to read books. The Kremlin leader does not think about his image being included in history books.

"Because when you think about it, you get self-important, sorry for the way I say it... You should do your part," he said.

President Putin said his family was not well off and often had to borrow money, but they were still able to buy a TV to watch hockey matches involving the Soviet team.

When asked which program impressed him most 50 years ago, President Putin replied that it was "the flight of the supersonic aircraft Tupolev Tu-144", one of the highlights of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

President Putin praised Vremya as a standard show for providing reliable information. He described the show's team as talented and wished the show further success.

According to VNE