I Was Once A Taxi Driver, Says Russian President

President Vladimir Putin of Russia has revealed how he worked as a taxi driver to earn more money after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

In a documentary film called Russia, Latest History, Putin described the Soviet Union break-up as the collapse of historical Russia, saying it forced many Russians to seek new ways to earn money.

“Sometimes I had to earn extra money. I mean, earn extra money by car, as a private driver. It’s unpleasant to talk about to be honest, but unfortunately that was the case,” he said

ly 1990’s, Putin worked in the office of St Petersburg Mayor Anatoly Sobchak. He said he resigned from the KGB after the August 1991 coup against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev which led to the break-up of the USSR.

His comment comes as Russia amasses more than 90,000 troops on its border with Ukraine, a former Soviet Republic, sparking fears of possible invasion.

But Russia has denies this and accused Ukraine of provocation and seeking guarantees against eastward NATO expansion.

Putin said, “It was a disintegration of historical Russia under the name of the Soviet Union,” he added that in the West it was believed that the further disintegration of Russia was only a matter of time.”