Russian President Vladimir Putin fielded questions on June 7 from across the country in an annual call-in show that lasted for more than four hours, one of a handful of live performances he holds every year to burnish his image.
-- Russian President Vladimir Putin painted an upbeat picture of the country's economy and accused the West of seeking to thwart its progress, setting a familiar tone for his new term in a marathon call-in show broadcast live on state TV.
-- The Direct Line broadcast on June 7 came a month after Putin was sworn in to a new six-year term following a landslide election that foes said was marred by fraud and international observers said did not present voters with a genuine choice.
-- The event was closely choreographed, with Putin fielding selected questions from among more than a million submitted and sending signals about an array of domestic and foreign policy issues.
*NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Moscow (GMT/UTC +3)
Moderators on Russian television are making a big deal about how many uses the Direct Line hashtags are getting on social media (more than 330,000!). Counting clicks seems to be a popular indicator in the Kremlin.
As Putin's Direct Line gets under way, expectations among some sarcastic Russians are high.
"Today Putin will walk on water, feed 140 million Russians with five loaves and two fishes and cure 10 cripples. Today is Direct Line."
