Vladimir Putin is holding the 15th annual Q&A session of his career on Thursday. RT is covering the event as it unfolds.
15 June 2017
After almost four hours of answering questions, Putin wrapped up the session, thanking everyone who had asked for his opinion on various issues.
“Don’t hold a grudge if I didn’t answer all your questions. That is impossible,” he said. “But it is important to me to hear your opinion on what is happening in Russia.”
“Everything will be fine,” Putin read from a statement sent to the Q&A. “I confirm this,” he said.
Putin said he will eventually make his personal preferences for the next president of Russia public, but that the decision was not his to take. The Russian people will elect his successor, he said.
Putin promised that the president of Russia will soon travel in a car produced in Russia, adding that this is actually an important issue. He said a new line of cars for Russian officials may be launched next year.
Putin answers questions he selected himself, picking from the screen.
The biggest fish Putin ever caught weighed 20kg, he said, joking that although people said it didn't look big enough to be that heavy, perhaps someone put something in it to tip the scales that way.
Asked who of the world leaders has the strongest handshake, Putin said handshakes don’t determine strength of a leader. His or her dedication to the country does.
The president assured that he is quite familiar with life of everyday people in Russia, being from one such family. He said he has some poor man’s habits like always switching off the lighting when leaving a room to save on electricity bills.
The situation with road construction in Russia has worsened this year due to a shortage of resources, Putin said. The federal government may increase funding to address the problem, he added.
He elaborated, saying that everyone had experience of being on the receiving end of deception. Putin said he never acts hastily, even when he is certain he is being lied to. “I get to understand what the person wanted and why. But I never forget,” he said.
Putin remarked that his office requires him to double-check information before making decisions. This is what he does when receiving any information about possible misdeeds of public figures, he said. Thankfully, there are plenty of tools at his disposal to verify such information, Putin added.
A teenager concerned with corruption in Russia asked whether Putin favored harsher punishments for officials guilty of embezzlement. The president said he believes the most important thing in fighting corruption is that all such crimes are investigated and properly prosecuted, not the severity of the punishment.
A 12yo girl asked Putin what time he would choose to go to if he could travel in time. Putin said time travel would require considerations. He personally would like to go back in time and see how decisions crucial for Russia’s history had been taken, but he would not do so if time travel would pose the threat of altering history.
A school principal asked about some practical issues of his profession, including regulations on how long schoolbooks are allowed to be used by schools and the uniformity of the curriculum throughout the country. Putin said some disciplines like geography need regular updates to accurately reflect changes in the world. He also voiced caution about taking the authority from schools to choose which books to use in teaching.
Asked about protests in Russia, Putin said he is fine with them as long as they are aimed at solving problems and not promoting political figures.
After discussing Russia’s preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2018, Putin was asked whether he can make the national football team play any better. He said in the long run it depended not on him, but on a comprehensive system of finding talent among youth and training them into professional players. Certain positive changes in this regard do happen in Russia, Putin assured. He said it experts have told him there are too many foreign players in the domestic league.
Meanwhile, the Q&A session has passed the three-hour mark. Compared to previous years, this one seems to be even more focused on domestic Russian issues.
The discussion turned to the controversial Moscow renovation plan, which sparked thousands-strong protests earlier this year. Putin reiterated his position that the Moscow authorities should be very careful with the ambitious plan and not violate anyone’s rights.
A couple of questions about old housing and the federal program for renovating old buildings. People want to see their living conditions improved sooner. Putin pledged to see that happen and even to visit one of the callers, in the town of Izhevsk.
A bridge from mainland Russia to Sakhalin Island would cost at least 286 billion rubles, Putin said, citing preliminary estimates. He added that the government is considering an alternative project of a tunnel link with the island. Having such a connection would have many benefits, including making Russia more attractive as a transit railroad route between Europe and Asia.
Putin was asked to comment on Russian military campaign in Syria, including lessons learned and future of the operation. The president said the Syrian presence gave much real-life data to Russian military producers, helping them improve their weapons. He added the armed forces themselves have gained valuable experience in Syria.
As for the prospects, Putin said Russia is promoting political dialogue to settle Syrian civil conflict. But the short-term goal is to boost Syria’s own military capabilities to a level that would allow them to fight terrorism efficiently.
More domestic issue questions: about small business and the suggestions to raise the retirement age, a measure that proponents say is necessary to address problems in Russia’s pension system. On the latter issue, Putin said no final decision has been taken, but stressed that those in favor of it have valid arguments to back their position.
A question from a young woman, who said she lost a chance to beat cancer because she was misdiagnosed at a local clinic, took a sudden personal turn. Putin said his father was also misdiagnosed and died from a condition that doctors didn’t know he had.
Putin commented on the congressional testimony made by former FBI Director James Comey, who accused Russia of interfering in the US election. Putin said Russia’s influence on American’s minds was no greater than that of America, which sponsors NGOs worldwide with a goal to influence countries in which they operate.
He also remarked that Comey’s leaks to the media about his conversations with Trump put him in a vulnerable position. Putin compared him to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, saying that in this episode Comey acted not as an FBI chief, but as an activist.
Continuing the discussion on Russo-American relations, Putin was asked what he expects from a meeting with US President Donald Trump at an upcoming G20 summit.
Putin said Russia and the US have many issues for potential cooperation, ranging from nuclear non-proliferation, to fighting poverty, to protecting the environment, even though the US has chosen to withdraw from the Paris agreement on climate change. He added that Russia worked with the Obama administration on the Iranian nuclear deal, with demonstrates that cooperation is possible even amid tense relations.
He added that improving relations now depends more on the US than on Russia.
A question came from Arizona, from a self-described pro-Russian American, who asked how he could convince his fellow Americans that Russia is not an enemy. Putin said Russia does not consider the US an enemy and that the two countries were allies in two world wars.
Putin reiterated his assertion that anti-Russian sentiment in the US come from internal political strife in America and assured that many people in Russia want to see relations with the US become normal again.
Putin sided with the residents of a village, who are facing eviction over a hazard posed by a nearby gas pipeline, saying such an eviction would be unjust.
Putin’s opinion was asked about the situation surrounding Saint Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg. It is currently a secular museum, but the Russian Orthodox Church wants it to be handed over to its control. The fate of the cathedral is a major point of controversy in the city.
The president remarked that the cathedral, which had been built as a house of prayer, was turned into a “museum of atheism” under the Soviet Communist government, but would not take either side of the conflict. He suggested that Saint Isaac's can serve as both a museum and a religious site, citing the example of the Vatican. He suggested that the issue should be depoliticized in order to find a compromise.
The president said global climate change promises more intensive maritime navigation along Russia’s northern coast. Hydrocarbon production in Arctic is also expected to grow rapidly.
Putin said Arctic is also very important from a military standpoint and it is essential for Russia to have the capability to monitor the region for possible threats like American submarines and missile launches.
Putin assured workers of the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg that the Russian government will continue to contract unique nuclear-propelled icebreakers at the plant, since they are crucial for Russia’s plans for Arctic development. He added that Russia’s future depends on presence in Arctic.
Yet another personal problem from a woman who says local authorities refuse to provide her with life-saving medicine she is entitled to under a federal program. Putin assures the problem is not about federal funding, since the central government delivered in full on its commitment to provide such drugs. He promised to look into the matter.
Putin was asked about a controversy surrounding 'Matilda' a biopic film directed by Aleksey Uchitel about Russian tsar Nicholas II, which was criticized for allegedly marring the monarch’s reputation. Putin distanced himself from the conflict between Uchitel and MP Natalia Poklonskaya, the prime critic of the movie, saying he hoped the situation would be resolved in a civilized manner.
A question comes from Rostov-on-Don, where a brand new airport is to be opened later this year. An employee of the airport asked whether improvement of inter-regional flight is planned. Putin explains that such flights require funding from the government because otherwise they would not be economically feasible due to low number of passengers requiring such flights. There are also issues of smaller aircraft fleets and infrastructure development, which affect the issue, he added.
Putin gives a historic outlook on a poem by Mikhail Lermontov, which was cited by Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko to celebrate Kiev’s distancing from Russia and getting closer with Europe. The poem decries Russia as a country of “masters and slaves” oppressed by its government.
Putin remarked that Lermontov wrote it in 1842 or so, when the territories which are now Ukraine were part of Russia. He further blasted Poroshenko and his government for the economic problems Ukraine is facing because of their policies and said the Ukrainian president should “close his offshore accounts” before bragging about how much he cares about Ukrainians.
Putin said some people in Ukraine, who share nationalist views, don’t agree with Kiev’s severing of economic ties with Russia, believing it to be against the national interests of Ukraine.
A man called from Ukraine, where the government is currently holding an anti-Russian stance despite historical ties with Moscow. He asked why Russia does not provide more support to pro-Russian Ukrainians. Putin said such interference may actually hurt people in Ukraine who disagree with their government on how to deal with Russia.
A housing developer complains about the high cost of bank credit, which, he says, hampers small business in Russia. Putin says Russia’s Central Bank was forced to hike the base rate in order to address financial instability, which affected commercial credit in Russia, but is currently in the process of slowly reducing it. He added that lowering the rate any faster would destabilize the national currency and impact the economy.
A personal question about Putin’s children and grandchildren. The president says his daughters and his grandchildren live in Russia. He noted, perhaps pointedly, that his daughters do not interfere in political matters. Putin said he would not like to give any detail about his grandchildren so that they would not be identified and their lives be affected by him holding Russia’s highest office. Children need normal interactions and not be treated “like royalty”, he said.
A question about social benefits for parents comes from a maternity ward in the city of Ufa. Putin warns that Russia is entering a period of a demographic dive, a generation after the 1990s. Economic problems and other factors combined to greatly reduce birth rates in the country. He says the government will certainly continue to stimulate births, but is considering the exact measures to do it most efficiently.
Putin promises to address problems of a small village on the Island of Olkhon, Lake Baikal, where strict environmental rules are hampering infrastructure development. He said Russia has certain obligations to protect the unique lake under international agreements, but that some easing of the rules may be possible to work out.
A question comes from Balashikha, a city in the Moscow Region, over a five decades-old landfill, which annoys local residents. Putin says funding has been allocated to build incinerators to address the problem there and some other parts of Russia, and acknowledges that a Russian law that reforms the regulation of waste disposal has not yet been implemented. The delay is due to the cost it would impose on Russian manufacturers, for which they are not prepared yet.
Putin comments on the land handovers in Russia’s Far East and why the process of resettling there is marred by technical problems and red tape. The man who asked about the issue said even Pyotr Stolypin, a tsarist-era reformist PM, managed to conduct his version of eastwards resettlement better. Putin said Stolypin’s reforms, as successful as they were, included “Stolypins railroad cars” for forced relocation of peasants and “Stolypin's 'neckties'” – execution by hanging – to quiet dissent, neither of which today’s Russia sees as a good example.
A representative of the agriculture sector, which was the prime beneficiary of Russia’s ban on food exports from EU, is worried about the time when the import is back in full. Putin said Russia would have to lift the ban after the EU lifts its anti-Russian sanctions, since otherwise it would be violating WTO rules. By that time Russian food producers would have the advantage of scale and established market presence to compete with the Europeans.
Putin says his Q&A sessions allow his administration to get direct feedback from the Russian people. This is more important than ad hoc solutions of individual problems, which get prime-time coverage as part of these sessions.
Such restrictions are doing little good to the global economy and hurt the countries, which impose them, Putin added.
Putin believes that sanctions are a tool to undermine Russia’s strength and would be imposed regardless of Moscow’s policies under one pretext or another. He added that Russia’s economy was hurt by the drop in commodity prices rather than sanctions. For Russia, the current sanctions were a boon as well as a bane, since the country was forced to innovate and improve production in industries other than energy, including high-tech sectors of the economy.
Russia is historically used to living under sanctions since the time the country started to matter in world affairs, Putin said, commenting on the continuation of sanctions against Russia in the EU and US.
The government is trying to help low-income citizens to weather the storm by pushing up minimum wages and pensions for vulnerable retirees, Putin said.
Capital investment is higher than economic growth, which gives hope for the economy will grow faster in the future, Putin said. Mortgage uptake is also on the rise, which is a positive indicator.
On the bright side certain parameters indicate general economic growth in Russia, such as in manufacturing, car production, capital investment and export of non-commodities. The country also has record-low inflation at the moment.
Other economic problems include sub-optimal structural issues, which the government wants to change, and low productivity, which directly affects the well-being of Russians.
The Russian economy has overcome the recession period and begun to grow, Putin said when asked if the economic crisis in the country was over. But there are still serious problems like the decrease of income many people have experienced during the recession.
Some 300,000 comments on social media had been published online about this year’s session even before it started.
Putin Q&A starts from Moscow.
The Russian president usually spends three to four hours answering several dozen questions. Over a million and a half questions have been submitted this year so far, according to RIA news agency. Traditionally, the session mostly focuses on domestic issues, such as Russia’s healthcare, housing, and economic development, but Putin also often offers comments on where the country stands on global affairs.
According to the president’s office, among the international issues Putin is likely to touch on this year is what many Russians perceive as a growth in Russophobia in the West, particularly in the US.
Putin’s first Q&A session was held in December of 2001. The longest, which took place in 2015, lasted a whopping 4 hours and 47 minutes.