MOSCOW, April 10 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold an annual televised question and answer session at noon Moscow time on April 17, the Kremlin press service said Thursday.
For the first time ever, residents of Crimea, formerly a part of Ukraine and Russia’s newest region after it joined the country last month, will be able to submit their questions.
It will be Putin’s 12th such session, and his second since being reelected president in 2012. The dialog with citizens traditionally focuses on the political, social and economic life of the country as well as international issues.
Putin’s first question and answer session was on December 24, 2001, lasting two and a half hours, one hour longer than planned. Each of the subsequent sessions has been longer still.
The president set a new record last year for the session, replying to 85 questions in four hours and 47 minutes.
