Some 1.6Mln Questions for 'Direct Line' Call-in Session With Putin Received

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that, traditionally, there were a lot of life stories among 1.6 million questions received one day before the annual "direct line" Q&A call-in sessions with Russian President Vladimir Putin in which people asked the president for help, while issues of foreign policy concern Russians much less.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Around 1.6 million questions have been received one day before the annual "direct line" Q&A call-in sessions with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

"Now, the array is around 1.6 million [questions]… These are different social questions about salaries, retirement benefits, and social benefits. There are problems of housing and public utilities, of course. Then there are issues connected with public health," Peskov told reporters.

Peskov also noted that, traditionally, there were a lot of life stories in which people asked the president for help, while issues of foreign policy concern Russians much less.

Peskov added that most issues could and should be resolved by local regional authorities.

"All heads of regions watch ‘direct lines’ and, we must give them credit, react to citizen appeals very quickly," Peskov added.

According to the spokesman, some Russians say that it was usually easier to reach out to the president than to regional heads. Peskov stressed that this often happened due to the lower, "forefront" officials’ formal replies and unwillingness to help.

The direct line television program will be aired on Thursday at noon Moscow time (09:00 GMT).