MOSCOW — Russians sought answers on pressing economy matters and whether the end of a nearly four-year war in Ukraine might be in sight, as Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed questions from in his marathon year-end conference on Friday — one of his rare direct engagements with the public.
The event began with Putin repeating well-worn lines about the war against Ukraine, blaming Kyiv for refusing to end the war — although Russia invaded Ukraine — and claiming that Kyiv’s forces were retreating “in all directions.”
Putin, who has taken a hard line on peace negotiations in recent days, said that Russia was ready for peace — on terms suitable to Moscow that eliminated what the Kremlin calls “the root causes” of the conflict, which would see a Ukraine subservient to its Russian neighbor.
The combined-format event, blending a large news conference with a “Direct Line” call-in from citizens that often runs for four hours, marks Putin’s most significant public address this year. He skipped the traditional state-of-the-nation speech, normally held in the spring.
During the conference questions from Russians flashed up on screens in the hall, including one that suggested that Russian elections were “a fiction” and another asked why ordinary Russians lived so badly.
“When you will return the ‘normal internet?’ It’s impossible to even send questions to our president!” one asked. Another asked “Who will be the next president? I’d like to take a closer look.”
When the Levada Center independent polling agency asked Russians last month what questions they had for Putin, 21 percent wanted to know when the war would end, and 16 percent wanted to ask when pensions and benefits would increase.
During the news conference Putin called on a military officer to speak who said he was part of the force that had taken control of the Ukrainian city of Siversk in Donetsk in recent days, a claim that analysts say is exaggerated. The Institute for the Study of War Thursday assessed that Russia had taken about 77 percent of the city.
The press marathon comes amid a burst of diplomatic activity as President Donald Trump pushes for a deal to settle the conflict in Ukraine. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected in Miami this weekend for talks with Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s key investment envoy and a central figure in back-channel discussions, Axios and Politico reported.
On Thursday, the Kremlin confirmed Russia is preparing for American contacts to clarify details from recent U.S. consultations with Ukraine and Europeans held in Berlin earlier this week.
Putin’s address comes after European leaders agreed Friday to give Kyiv nearly $105 billion in a loan backed by the bloc’s budget, after the failure of a last-ditch effort to tap Russia’s $246 billion in frozen assets to finance Ukraine’s state and army. Putin called the attempt to tap the assets “open robbery,” during the event.
Moscow had stepped up anti-European rhetoric and vowed retaliation against any seizure, warning that without fresh funding, Kyiv’s resources could dry up within months.
Clues on the questions Russians would like answered during the call-in — but may not actually get answers on — have popped up in recent opinion polls and online events gathering questions from the population, with issues including the Ukraine invasion, the economy and recent blocks of Western online platforms.
One pro-Kremlin youth group, Movement of the First, called for questions online, only to receive some that were unsuitable for the tightly controlled event and had to be swiftly removed from the group’s social media.
“How long will you run self-nominated — don’t you plan to hand over the leadership to new hands?” one questioner asked.
“Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,” wrote another questioner. “I would like that in Russia they unblock all the blocked online platforms, that is Roblox, Discord, YouTube, Telegram, WhatsApp, Instagram and any others.”
An 11-year-old asked why salaries for teachers, doctors and government workers were so low. “My 99-year-old grandmother, Olga Petrovna, works at my school. She has difficulty walking, but she has to work to live well. Please do something about this; it worries me,” the child wrote. Others complained of a shortage of schools or poor roads in some areas.
The Kremlin collects its own questions — about 3 million had been received by Friday according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov — but they are not made visible online.
Putin’s approval rating remains steady at 84 percent, according to a Levada poll in October and November published last month.
But as the Ukraine war — planned by the Kremlin to last just a few days — approaches its fourth year, war fatigue has set in, with casualties skyrocketing as Russia presses on with limited territorial gains.
More than 65 percent of people surveyed by Levada in mid-November believed it was time for peace talks instead of continued military action, a 4 percent increase over the previous month. Tellingly, 55 percent in a separate Levada poll the previous month said they would not want a family member to sign a military contract to fight in Ukraine, 14 percent higher than in May 2023.
Putin has insisted on continuing attacks on Ukraine amid peace negotiations, repeatedly deflecting Trump’s calls for a quick ceasefire.
The Russian leader has shown little inclination for compromise, describing Ukrainian territory as Russia’s “historical lands” in a meeting with Defense Ministry officials on Wednesday and insisting that Russia would seize more Ukrainian territory by force, if it failed to get its way through the U.S.-brokered talks.
According to the recent Levada poll, 65 percent of Russians believe the country is heading in the right direction, down from 74 percent in March, while 21 percent feel Russia is on the wrong path, compared with 16 percent in March.
With Russia’s economy under intense pressure amid sanctions, declining oil prices and high interest rates, dozens of Russian companies have laid off workers or cut wages, while residents grapple with inflation and a rising cost of living. According to the poll, 25 percent said their life had gotten worse in the past year.
In the lead-up to Putin’s question session, residents in villages and towns across Russia recorded videos complaining of local issues: a lack of heating in their homes; terrible roads; public transport failures; odorous smoke from local landfills; and other matters that will probably be featured during the event.
In Krasnodar, residents appealed to Putin to stop a giant 230-foot-high church dedicated to the soldiers in the Ukraine war that local authorities plan to build in a picturesque riverside park.
“Help preserve the park for the sake of our children and grandchildren. The authorities are not listening to us,” said the residents in a video appeal to Putin that they planned to submit to “Direct Line.”
Natalia Abbakumova contributed to this report.
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