Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin"s legacy remains...
The issue came up in a TV and radio phone-in, when Putin was asked to pick questions from a large number of entries sent in by the public.
"I left this question in, because I understand what a fiery issue it is," he said. "This is widely discussed in society. And the problem is, you say something positive and someone will be unhappy, you say something negative, and someone else will be.
"In my view, you can"t give an overall assessment. It"s clear that from 1924 to 1953, the country led by Stalin changed fundamentally.
"There was repression. This is a fact. Millions of our citizens suffered from this. And this way of running a state, to achieve a result, is not acceptable. It is impossible.
"Certainly, in this period we encountered not only a cult of personality, but a massive crime against our own people. This is also a fact. And we must not forget this."
However, Putin said such historical chains of events must be considered "in their entirety."