The 11 Best Quips From Putin's Annual Press Conference

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a marathon press conference Thursday in which he discussed the economy, the collapse of the ruble, Ukraine, China, tensions with the West, talk of a "new Cold War," and more.

Over the course of the three-and-a-half-hour press conference, Putin also made quite a few witty remarks. We've picked out some of the best ones.

He compared Russia to a bear that the West wants to chain up and subdue:

He compared Russia's invasion of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea to taking Texas from Mexico:

He dismissed the notion of a coup in Russia:

And then got a little silly:

He bashed NATO, comparing it to the Berlin Wall:

Putin said he doesn't even know how much money he makes in his role as president: 

He insisted that there are no elites in Russia and thanks the country's "peasants" who live in poverty:

He made a joke about a reporter who was asking a question being drunk. It later emerged that the man had survived multiple strokes:

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