This is truly a difficult subject. I don’t think any normal person takes pleasure in discussing his diseases in public. Believe me, it doesn’t make me happy, either. However, each person chooses his own fate. The citizens of Russia have for a second time entrusted me with the post of president. This means they have entrusted me with the fate of our motherland for another four full years. This is a great honor. But it is also a tremendous responsibility. And let me put it straight: it is a heavy burden. Part of it may be the awareness that from the moment that you have said the words of the president’s oath and up till the last minute of the presidential term, you do not belong only to yourself, your loved ones, your family, your home. And you no longer have private problems: everything, whatever you may think, is a political problem.
I am sure two months ago the Russians made a deliberate choice. They voted for a president who will give all his energy for the good of Russia, who will serve his motherland, not sparing himself. For a president who will work. I mean work and not just stay in power. Gone is the time when the top “boss” would show up once a year someplace on the [Red Square] mausoleum, while a throng of faceless and nameless bureaucrats held sway in the country. Those times are gone together with the communist regime, and I’m convinced they will never come back.
The president’s duty is to make sure every voter is confident that the management of the country is in reliable and strong hands. In the very hands that he put it in when he gave his vote. This is why I deem it necessary to speak openly and calmly with the Russians. I have nothing to hide from them.
I have to admit that this summer’s months demanded a special concentration of energy. Ask any of your colleagues–journalists who took part in dozens of trips around regions in Russia: was it easy for them to endure the schedule? And some of them were quite young. I am 65. And you know how the physicians diagnosed me: ischemic heart disease.
I was offered two options. One is a prudent one, or, as they call it, conservative: to take medication and, most importantly, to radically change my work schedule–that is, to work no more than two or three hours per day. The second one is the surgical option, which cannot be put off much longer. Of course, I cannot accept the former way. I am being told: spare yourself, be merciful to yourself. But I cannot be merciful to myself! Let me say once again: the Russians did not vote for me so that I would treat myself pitifully. I was elected to work. So I think the operation is necessary, and I will not put it off.
Of course I was informed that the best surgeons [from abroad] are ready to do this surgery. Offers are coming from the best-known clinics. But what for? Russia has excellent doctors. In any medical field Russia has world-class specialists. And surgeons can be found whose level is at least no lower than in Europe or America. I will be operated on here. The decision is final.
