President Vladimir Putin’s epic annual press conference on Friday was punctuated by bizarre moments and occasional barbs from ordinary Russians venting their frustration via unfiltered text messages.
As expected, the dominant theme was Russia’s war in Ukraine, but Putin also fielded a host of offbeat questions from ordinary people who seized their once-a-year chance to grill him on any topic at the marathon event.
A woman called Kristina asked Putin about aliens in outer space, and a young boy wanted to know if he drove round Moscow incognito to get information about what was happening.
Putin replied that he did, sometimes.
One man said Russia should put up a monument to the Persian poet Omar Khayyam. “It’s a good idea. We’ll definitely think about it,” said the Kremlin leader.
Kirill Bazhanov, a 23-year-old student wearing a red bow tie and a flower in his buttonhole, proposed live on air to his girlfriend Olga, who he said was watching on TV. He invited Putin to the wedding, before asking a question about financial support for young families.
SARCASTIC COMMENTS FLASH UP
The Kremlin presents the annual event, which typically runs for at least four hours, as proof that Putin is attentive to the concerns of ordinary people and willing to answer questions on any subject.
It said more than 2.5 million questions for this year’s event had been sent in by people from all across Russia.
Selected questions were put to Putin by moderators or people in a live audience who vied to attract his attention by waving banners.
But from time to time, sarcastic comments flashed up on a big screen in the hall showing incoming text messages intended for the president at the “Direct Line” event.
“Not a direct line, but a circus,” said one such comment.
Another, using Putin’s first name and patronymic, read: “Vladimir Vladimirovich, it’s Friday already, can we break out the booze?”
At least two messages complained about internet outages, and one about rust-coloured tap water in the city of Saransk.
Another took a blast at Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor, which has blocked or limited access to foreign tech platforms including WhatsApp, YouTube, Snapchat and the gaming app Roblox.
“Block Roskomnadzor itself!” the author wrote.
The Kremlin did not immediately comment on the appearance of such messages at what is a meticulously planned event watched by millions of Russians. Putin did not refer to them.
One message, alluding to the state of Russia’s economy, asked why ordinary Russians were worse off than people in Papua New Guinea.
Another, referring to Putin’s governing United Russia party, said: “Looking at life in the country, it is strange that (it) wins a majority in elections! Maybe elections are a fiction?”
(Writing by Mark Trevelyan in London, Editing by Timothy Heritage)