Sounding more like Nikita Krushchev than Mikhail Gorbachev, Russia's President Vladimir Putin blasted the U.S. over its aggressive use of force. Commentators think the speech could mark a turning point in international relations.
America's "very dangerous" approach to global relations was fuelling a nuclear arms race, he told a security summit.
Correspondents say the strident speech may signal a more assertive Russia.
US defence secretary Robert Gates, also attending the summit in Munich, said only that the Russian leader had been "very candid".
Mr Putin told senior security officials from around the world that nations were "witnessing an almost uncontained hyper use of force in international relations".
"One state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way," he said, speaking through a translator.
What we are talking about here is a very, very sensitive technology, and for that reason we need a high degree of transparency...
Angela Merkel"This is very dangerous. Nobody feels secure anymore because nobody can hide behind international law.
"This is nourishing an arms race with the desire of countries to get nuclear weapons."
BBC defence and security correspondent Rob Watson, in Munich, said Mr Putin's speech was a strident performance which may well be remembered as a turning point in international relations.
