Question about why, in the federal government in Moscow, only the Far Eastern region of Russia has its own vice-premier responsible for the region? Putin replies that going forward, a specific minister will have oversight of each region. Attempt to tell citizens across Russia that the government in Moscow will pay closer attention to their problems.
Presenter says many questions regarding the Internet and regulation of the Internet, especially from young people. Switches on live video call from young Moscow blogger who says he has more than 1 million subscribers on Instagram and asks whether Russia plans to block foreign-based sites such as TikTok and others. Putin says: No, we have no plans to block them. But goes on to assert that these companies in many cases are not following Russian law and suggests Moscow will take measures to punish or restrict them as it deems appropriate.
He says that a main demand is that they open full-fledged offices in Russia, and that some are "not listening to us." Says Russia has ways of trying to force them in line, such as slowing their operations, as it has done with Twitter in the past. Repeats: "We have no plans" to block them.
Presenter says the questioner and others are probably breathing a big sigh of relief, but cuts the questioner off when he attempts to speak. This is a typical effort by Putin to attempt to reassure people who are concerned by saying that a radical measure is not planned but also sets out Moscow's line and delivers a warning. Also focuses on laws, presenting Russia's demands as simply following the law, but critics say the law in many of these cases is draconian.
This is an even bigger faux pas considering the Direct Line organizers have scrapped the live display of questions sent by viewers on YouTube. Many of the questions had contained curses toward government officials and Putin personally, and proved an embarrassment for the authorities.
- By Mike Eckel
Another complaint about the high cost of living: in this case, rates for household gas in the central Sverdlovsk region.
After taking notes in a notebook in front of him, Putin offers a small explanation about how gas pipelines are built...
...and then pivots to a second question, on the same subject, from а woman in the North Caucasus region of Karachevo-Cherkassia region, who complains about who pays for the final connections of households to local pipeline networks.
If nothing else, these sorts of questions allow Putin to dive into the nitty-gritty details of hyper-local issues affecting communities across Russia's sprawling territory -- the type of thing that the Kremlin hopes will give the image that Putin is sympathetic to the needs of average Russians.
Russian TV briefly showed the questions sent from across Russia for Putin's call-in show. "How long can you lie that there's no inflation?" one reads. "Either you think we're idiots or you live in a bunker & never visit a store." Obviously that's not what Putin was asked.
A personal question, "maybe the most interesting kind," according to a presenter. A questioner asks what dreams Putin has that will never come true. Putin replies that everyone should think about improvements and hope for better times, and seems to suggest that all dreams are attainable. Somehow the conversation moves to vaccinations: Presenter says she hopes people will be COVID-free and Putin uses this as another chance to say Russians should get vaccinated.
- By Mike Eckel
A question from Yaroslavl, northeast of Moscow, again concerns household expenses: a woman complaining she doesn't have enough to live on, given high prices and high rates for bank loans.
Putin sympathizes with the woman's plight, and appears to gently chide the bank that is lending to the woman for not leaving her enough to live on.
His answer is neither deep nor revelatory, but it again does serve the purpose of portraying Putin as sympathetic to the plight of average Russians
Moves from geopolitics and Crimea to social policy and families with children: Woman speaking "for all mommies of the Astrakhan region" says regional authorities are not following federal policy and skimping on benefits for large families, low-income and unemployed parents, and others.
After a discussion, Putin says the refusal of benefits in her case appears to be illegal. Promises the government will look into it and deal with it. Again, a frequent feature of the Direct Line and a big part of its apparent purpose: to show Russians that Putin cares about all of them and can be appealed to when officials at lower levels drop the ball. Putin ends response by saying, effectively to officials, that all lawful benefits "must be paid."
- By Mike Eckel
Today's call-in show comes just about a week after an incident off the coast of Crimea, where the British naval destroyer HMS Defender was confronted by Russian coast guard ships and fighter aircraft.
(Russia claimed that its vessels fired warning shots and a military jet dropped bombs. Britain’s Defense Ministry denied the destroyer had been fired upon, saying that Russia was carrying out a previously announced "gunnery exercise" in the area.)
Putin uses a question about the incident to lash out at not only Britain, but also the United States, who he asserted was directly responsible for the incident.
"It's a provocation, a clear provocation," Putin said.
"The British vessel's appearance near Crimea was a provocation. An American military jet was involved in that provocation.... Why they do this kind of provocation even after the summit with the U.S. leader in Geneva?" Putin said, referring to his recent summit meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden.
"We were not on the verge of a new world war," he said. "It was they who came to our territorial waters, not us who came to them."
He said the British ship was testing the capabilities of Russian forces in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula which Moscow annexed in 2014. The annexation has gone unrecognized by nearly all countries in the United Nations.
Earlier this week, massive, multinational naval and amphibious military exercises got under way in western parts of the Black Sea. Hosted by Ukraine and the United States, the Sea Breeze drills feature dozens of ships and aircraft, and thousands of troops from more than a dozen countries.
Russia has taken note, announcing new anti-aircraft drills on Crimea.
"The "man of his word", who earlier said "while I am president, there will be no increase in the retirement age" and "I will not change the constitution to suit myself", says that Russians should take his word for it, that he was vaccinated against the coronavirus with Sputnik V," says a Twitter account belonging to a project founded by Kremlin critic and former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
The "Open Russia" pro-democracy movement founded by Khodorkovsky was forced to disband last month in an effort to protect people associated with it from criminal prosecution -- a measure that did not save its former executive director, Andrei Pivovarov, who was removed from a Warsaw-bound plane in St. Petersburg shortly before takeoff and arrested.