 Putin wants new elite in Russia, he means military veterans returning from the Ukraine. Military veterans returning from the Ukraine conflict should become Russia's new elite. President Vladimir Putin has proposed Putin also called on Russian ministers to provide decommissioned military personnel with all the support necessary to facilitate their transition back to civilian life. The Russian head of state previously revealed that some 617,000 service members had been deployed in Ukraine. I met with students who put their studies on hold, many of them, and went to the war zone. Putin remarked, It's out of these people that we should be forming the country's elite in the future, he added. The Russian head of state described returning troops as those who can be entrusted with the country's development. Hence they should be supported and assisted, President Putin concluded. He also contrasted veterans with people who, pardon me, expose their denitals or show their bottom. An apparent reference to a private party featuring an almost naked dress code organized by prominent Russian blogger Anastasia Ivleeva in Moscow last month. Photos and videos from the event, which was attended by Russian celebrities, mostly pop artists, ended up on the internet, scandalizing conservative activists and authorities alike.