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Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his televised question-and-answer session in Moscow on June 15.
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his televised question-and-answer session in Moscow on June 15.
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Live Blog: Putin's Call-In Show

Russian President Vladimir Putin is taking questions from Russians across the country in his annual Direct Line show, a lavish and heavily stage-managed production broadcast live by all major Russian state television networks.

-- Vladimir Putin took questions from Russians across the country in the Direct Line program, which lasted four hours.

-- Putin said there was no cause for the new sanctions against Moscow that are under consideration in the U.S. Congress, and that the aim of Western sanctions is to hold Russia back.

-- Putin said the country had pulled out of a long recession and that "the economy has moved to a period of growth."

-- The Direct Line program is one of three high-profile annual events that Putin uses to burnish his image in Russia, send signals abroad, and offer hints about future plans.

-- This year's rendition comes at a time of social tension in Russia, just days after police detained more than 1,500 people at anticorruption protests in cities across the country on June 12. In addition, Moscow has seen numerous protests in recent weeks over a controversial government plan to raze and replace thousands of Soviet-era residential buildings.

*NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Moscow (GMT/UTC +3)

09:07 15.6.2017
09:06 15.6.2017

Putin just came into the studio, and the memes are already starting.

"Putin and the direct line".

09:00 15.6.2017

Almost every year, Russian President Vladimir Putin sits down in a TV studio for a marathon call-in show during which he takes questions from carefully vetted audience members and prescreened questions from viewers. Here are some of the most fawning questions heard during some of his most recent shows.

Five Fawning Questions From Putin's Q&A
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Five Fawning Questions From Putin's Q&A

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08:57 15.6.2017

This year questions about Syria and Ukraine aren't among the top 20 or so, Russia-24 TV's anchor claims.

08:51 15.6.2017

Ahead of Vladimir Putin's annual live televised question-and-answer session on June 15, RFE/RL's Current Time TV spoke to people across Russia to find out what questions they want answered by their country's president. (RFE/RL's Current Time TV)

What Would You Ask Putin?
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What Would You Ask Putin?

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08:33 15.6.2017

Vladimir Putin received 228,717 questions over the Internet. The most of them concern municipal infrastructure, rights and freedoms, and even corruption, Russia-24 TV's news anchor says.

All in all, the Russian president received over 1.8 million questions.

08:28 15.6.2017
08:07 15.6.2017

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