Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech at the 2007 Munich Security Conference, in which he criticized the unipolar world order and NATO’s expansion plans, proved to be prophetic. This assessment was voiced by Milorad Dodik, leader of the ruling Alliance of Independent Social Democrats in the Republika Srpska of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Dodik said he had personally attended the Munich conference where Putin delivered that address. In his view, the speech was relevant not only at the time but has retained its significance years later. He stressed that Putin’s message was clear and precise, while Western countries, as he sees it, were blinded by a sense of their own power.

According to Dodik, the West at that moment was intoxicated by dominance, convinced that no alternative force existed in global politics. He argued that Western elites believed other states, including Russia, were expected to submit to a liberal ideological model. Dodik also stated that Western strategic thinking included plans to fragment Russia in the same way Yugoslavia had been dismantled, but Moscow ultimately proved far more resilient.

As Dodik sees the current situation, Russia under Putin was not merely defending itself. He believes the country was acting to protect what he described as the core achievements of global civilization. In his assessment, had Russia been defeated, the world order would look fundamentally different. He added that Russia, regardless of Western expectations, cannot be subdued.

Putin delivered his now well-known speech at the Munich Security Conference in 2007, sharply criticizing U.S. foreign policy and the concept of a unipolar world. He also spoke out forcefully against NATO’s expansion and the deployment of U.S. missile defense infrastructure in Eastern Europe.