Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday told students in the central Russian republic of Chuvashia which human qualities he likes.

As Russia marked students' day, Putin sat down with a group of young people at university in the Volga River city of Cheboksary.

A female student asked the premier if all of the many people he meets leave "deep traces" in his soul, and what qualities he likes about them.

"If everyone left deep traces I would have gone mad already," Putin said, adding that he values "tolerance and honesty."

When a foreign student called him "great," Putin said modestly: "While I'm still alive, I think it's too early for me to perceive myself as a great person."

"Future generations will define what I really did," he said.

CHEBOKSARY, January 25 (RIA Novosti)