Putin says the government gave the regions "10 billion rubles" for PPE and first-response equipment and "5 billion" for free medicine for people who are treating themselves at home. Speaking of Ryazan Oblast, Putin says all the federal money for that region has been sent and promises to "look into" any problems there. "Of course, we are going to find out where the money is," Putin says. Says that governors are reporting to him that things are under control, but "judging by the number of complaints," something must be going on.
Next question is from a coronavirus medical volunteer, who says there have been problems with getting medicines and with long delays waiting for ambulances. Says medics in Murmansk and other regions are not being paid their promised bonuses. Says technical personnel who are also risking their lives are not getting any bonuses at all. Says her organization is ready to give Putin "a huge file" of complaints on these issues. Putin notes that he spoke with this woman "yesterday" about these topics.
- By Mike Eckel
Not sure about the latest statistics about "vaccine hesitancy" among Russians, but Putin takes his third question about health care to try to persuade (cajole? implore?) Russians to take the Sputnik-V coronavirus vaccine, now that it is being rolled out nationwide.
Recall: Putin announced, with great fanfare, in August that Russia was the first country in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine -- an announcement that was met with skepticism outside of Russia.
Reportedly, one of Putin's daughters was among the first to have been vaccinated.
State media outlet quotes Putin as saying "old political heavyweights" should step aside. Commenter suggests that means he should show himself the door.
Putin tells everyone to closely follow the recommendations of specialists. Says that his turn to get a vaccine has not yet come and that he is a "law-abiding citizen," but that he will get a vaccine as soon as his turn comes up. Also tells people to get flu vaccines. Urges everyone to get the vaccine as soon as they can, saying the Russian vaccine is safe and effective.
Regarding assistance to other countries, Putin says the government's priority is to vaccinate everyone in Russia. Says Russia is expanding its capacity to produce the vaccine and while this is happening, Russia is helping other countries to produce the vaccine themselves.
Next question is from the call center in Novosibirsk. Question from Altaisky krai. Asks whether Putin has been vaccinated and how the vaccine will be distributed. Will there be enough doses for Russia if Russia is helping other countries?
One of the most anticipated questions today is whether Putin will be asked about the poisoning of anti-corruption crusader and opposition politician Aleksei Navalny. (and of course whether he will answer).
Earlier this week, the open-source research group Bellingcat, along with The Insider, CNN, and Der Spiegel, published a bombshell investigation that found Navalny, who almost died in August, had been poisoned by Novichok by a special group of FSB agents who had trailed him for several years.
Navalny himself concluded that such an operation could not have been carried out without the approval of the head of the FSB, and Putin himself.
Ahead of the news conference, Navalny appeared to taunt Putin slightly, with a post on Facebook that repeated some of the findings of the case.
"We've grabbed the popcorn. We're waiting for Putin," he wrote.
Putin says the new elections will be held under the constitution that was radically amended earlier this year, giving the State Duma new powers, including greater influence on choice of prime minister and cabinet. This "fundamentally increases" the power and responsibility of the Duma, Putin says.
As for new parties and whether it is time for the old political lions to step aside, Putin said that is up to the voters. He says that a large number of parties will be participating in the new elections and many of them have the right to participate without collecting signatures.
Praises the range of points of view and the sharp debates that one sees in the current Duma from the "traditional parties," even though all of them are based fundamentally on patriotism.