Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the collapse of the Soviet Union spelled the end of historical Russia, revealing he drove a taxi to make ends meet following the USSR’s fall.

After all, what is the collapse of the Soviet Union? This is the collapse of historical Russia under the name of the Soviet Union,” the Russian leader was cited as saying.

A loyal servant of the Soviet Union, Putin was dismayed when it fell apart, once calling the collapse “the greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century”. Putin is sensitive to the perceived expansion of Western military ambitions into ex-Soviet countries and Russia this week demanded that NATO formally scrap a 2008 decision to open its door to Georgia and Ukraine.

Sometimes I had to earn extra money, said Putin. 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.