Today President Vladimir Putin gave his annual televised press conference and Q&A session with Russian citizens and journalists, including foreign media, the entirety of whose transcript is posted to the President’s website. It was decided this year to adopt a hybrid format—press conference plus Q&A—which hasn’t always been the case in past years. The comprehensive nature of this event, in which Putin maintained an in-depth dialogue with citizens regarding the specific region in which they live, the state of the national economy, political and logistical challenges, the special military operation, defense and nuclear strategy, and a range of other issues, is extraordinary. By the beginning of today’s session, scheduled to last three hours, it was reported there were 2.2 million submissions made for the Q&A portion, and lasted four-and-a-half hours. The 2023 session took place on Dec. 14 and lasted 4 hours.
Beginning today’s session, moderator Alexandra Suvorova asked the first question, which Putin later termed a “bit provocative.” Recently, she said, “everyone has been feeling a disturbing sense that the world is going crazy or already has, because the potential for conflict is off the charts in every part of the world and the global economy is struggling. How does Russia manage not only to stay afloat but also to continue growing in this situation?” Putin noted that with bullets “zipping past our heads these days, we are scared, yes, but not as `all get out’ kind of scared.”
He then launched into a detailed discussion of the state of the national economy, as well as several other matters, pertaining to defense, nuclear doctrine, and the capabilities of the intermediate-range Oreshnik ballistic hypersonic missile. He also discussed the BRICS. Putin responded to concerns on price growth and inflation in particular, but also provided statistics on where Russia stands in the global economy and relative to the U.S. and Europe. Russia’s economic situation is “generally positive and stable,” he said, despite outside threats, sanctions, etc. The economy will have grown by 8% over the past two years, but the goal is to keep the momentum growing and “transform our economy at its core.”
