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Elderly women watch a live broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual question-and-answer session in the village of Yelna, Ivanovo region, on June 7.
Elderly women watch a live broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual question-and-answer session in the village of Yelna, Ivanovo region, on June 7.

Live Blog: Putin's Annual Call-In Show

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)

10:12 7.6.2018

And another: "Why were the May 5 demonstrations in support of Navalny suppressed?"

10:13 7.6.2018

Next question asks Putin to impose sanctions on Latvia for supposedly oppressing Russian "compatriots." Putin again expresses his opposition to sanctions in general and then criticizes the Baltic countries for creating state-less people and limiting the rights of Russian-speakers and "compatriots" in those countries. Putin says Russia working with EU to make them "ashamed" to ignore rights violations in the Baltic states.

10:14 7.6.2018

10:18 7.6.2018

Next question is about the phenomenon of imposing criminal penalties against people for "liking" or "sharing" social media posts. Writer Sergei Shargunov says that if the current law were taken seriously, Russia would have to destroy the works of Pushkin and Dostoevsky.

10:20 7.6.2018

Putin says he agrees with Shargunov. Says that spreading "extremism" must be punished, but this needs to be defined properly and the law used reasonably and with restraint. Calls on his All-Russia People's Front to look into the matter.

10:21 7.6.2018

Putin says Russia must stop the propaganda of "suicide and fascism." Didn't mention homosexuality.

10:23 7.6.2018

Putin criticizes the United States for spreading its legal jurisdiction around the globe and said this is "absolutely unacceptable." Again says the world needs to sit down and work out together a system that will enable the global economy to develop efficiently.

10:24 7.6.2018

Next question is about tense relations with the United Kingdom and its "accusations" against Russia regarding the attempted assassination of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulya. Putin says that if Novichok had been used, they would have died immediately.

10:24 7.6.2018

A few more interesting SMS comments flashing across the screen, including:

1) "There's no money, but you hang in there!" [A word-for-word reference to an infamous comment by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to a woman complaining about economic hardship]

2) "Why are bananas here twice as cheap as apples? What are we, a banana republic?"

10:26 7.6.2018

They keep rolling in: "I love Russia, but hate Soviet-style propaganda. I'm sick of it."

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