  Strong decays of vector ($^3S_1$) mesons to the pair of pseudoscalar
($^1S_0$) mesons are considered in the framework of the microscopic decay
mechanism and the relativistic quark model based on the quasipotential
approach. The quark-antiquark potential, which was previously used for the
successful description of meson spectroscopy and electroweak decays, is
employed as the source of the $q\bar q$ pair creation. The relativistic
structure of the decay matrix element, relativistic contributions and boosts of
the meson wave functions are comprehensively taken into account. The calculated
rates of strong decays of light, heavy-light mesons and heavy quarkonia agree
well with available experimental data.
