It is the day when President Putin becomes Primetime Putin.
For a marathon four-and-a-half hours, his annual end-of-year TV address was given uninterrupted coverage on all of Russia’s main channels.
The questions come from both the press and the public.
The point is to reassure Russians that their leader has everything under control. That he’s plugged into their problems, and will find a solution.
The first question came from the moderator, and said a lot about the current mood here: “When will there be peace?”
Judging by Putin‘s answer, not anytime soon.
Although he said Russia wants peace and is willing to agree to a deal, he also said any deal must “address the root causes” of the conflict. In other words, still no sign of compromise.
According to him, the ball is in Kyiv’s court. He blames Ukraine for the lack of a settlement.
Unsurprisingly, he sounded smug when he spoke about the EU’s decision to borrow cash to help fund Ukraine rather than use frozen Russian assets.
He accused Brussels of trying to commit “daylight robbery” and gloated that the bloc’s image as an asset safe haven had now been damaged.
But not everything is going his way when it comes to the war.
During his address, news broke of Ukraine’s unprecedented drone attack on a Russian oil tanker in the Mediterranean.
Only moments earlier, he was talking about his forces’ supremacy and the possibility of new successes on the battlefield. But Kyiv continues to find new ways to cause Moscow problems, in this case more than 1,000 miles from the fighting.
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Russians watch a broadcast of Vladimir Putin’s annual news conference. Pic: Reuters
At home, too, there was more than a hint of discontent from the ordinary citizens who sent in questions for the “Direct Line” event. One text message that flashed up on the big screen read “not a direct line but a circus”.
The most common theme the public asked about was the cost of living.
From the price of chicken to stagnating wages, from rising VAT to state support for young families, it’s clear the creaking economy is a major concern.
So did Putin succeed? Do Russians feel reassured? It didn’t sound like it, listening to those questions. Nearly four years of war have clearly come at a cost.
But it also didn’t sound like Russia’s leader will alter his course anytime soon.
This story originally appeared on Skynews
