Live coverage from the Russian president’s marathon conversation with the public – and the best reaction from around the web

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Vladimir Putin embarked on his annual discussion with the nation through his “direct line” press conference. The now well-established tradition on Thursday saw the Russian president take questions on topics from Ukraine and the Iran nuclear deal to rural transport and the sale of milk to primary schools.

A record 3 million questions were logged, with the first hour dominated by the economy as Putin fielded questions on the impact of western sanctions, later moving on to Russia’s relations with its neighbours and the wider world.

Key lines

Iran : Putin insisted lifting a five-year embargo on the delivery of air defence missiles to Iran did not undermine international sanctions since the Russian ban was voluntary. The US and Israel have objected to the move announced this week. Putin said he made the decision since Iran had shown “a desire to reach compromise”.

: Putin insisted lifting a five-year embargo on the delivery of air defence missiles to Iran did not undermine international sanctions since the Russian ban was voluntary. The US and Israel have objected to the move announced this week. Putin said he made the decision since Iran had shown “a desire to reach compromise”. WW2 commemorations : European nations not visiting Moscow to mark the 70th anniversary of the war’s end had been put under pressure by Washington, Putin claimed.

: European nations not visiting Moscow to mark the 70th anniversary of the war’s end had been put under pressure by Washington, Putin claimed. Ukraine : The Russian president denied Russian military forces were in Ukraine and said Kiev was violating a peace accord by maintaining an economic blockade on eastern regions under the control of pro-Russian rebels.



: The Russian president denied Russian military forces were in Ukraine and said Kiev was violating a peace accord by maintaining an economic blockade on eastern regions under the control of pro-Russian rebels. Economy : Putin was optimistic in his answers, highlighting gains in agriculture and a low unemployment rate. He added that the rouble was getting back on its feet following a sharp devaluation last year, and estimated a full recovery to be “somewhere in the region of two years”.

: Putin was optimistic in his answers, highlighting gains in agriculture and a low unemployment rate. He added that the rouble was getting back on its feet following a sharp devaluation last year, and estimated a full recovery to be “somewhere in the region of two years”. Relations with west : Putin said the west must respect Russia’s interests if it wants to normalise diplomatic relations. He said the US “doesn’t need allies, they only need vassals” and that Russia would never accept that role.

: Putin said the west must respect Russia’s interests if it wants to normalise diplomatic relations. He said the US “doesn’t need allies, they only need vassals” and that Russia would never accept that role. Nemtsov murder: The killing of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was “tragic and shameful”, Putin said in response to one question. Nemtsov was shot dead on 27 February just outside the Kremlin. Five Chechens are in custody but Putin said he does not know if it will be possible to track down the mastermind.



One of two questions on milk came from a British man, John Kopiski, who moved to Russia in 1992 and became a dairy farmer. He asked about regulated milk prices.

Alexey Venedikto from Ekho Moskvy also quizzed Putin about Nemtsov’s murder from the studio. But there we no high profile guests to top Edward Snowden who appeared last year to ask a question on Russia’s mass surveillance policy.

In tweets

Shaun Walker live-tweeted the event in English:

And we rounded up the best of the online reaction as the discussion developed:

And you can watch the whole event dubbed in English here:

The social media build-up to the event focused around the perceived power of Putin as a president, as a Vine clip re-surfaced showing him see off US president Barack Obama in a stare down – the two have previously been compared on the basis of their animal preferences.

And to keep people entertained through the proceedings Meduza created a game of Putin bingo, with key words that include “sanctions”, “Crimea” and “Nemtsov”.

