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Thursday, June 20

Yippee! Putin's annual Q&A with the Russian people is today!

The Q&A starts at noon Moscow time and will be shown live on several outlets. Be there or be square. English speakers can watch on English language Sputnik or on YouTube.   


Now this isn't the same annual Q&A that he holds for the press, which is a great deal of fun -- although things got so rowdy last year that he had to remind the audience of journalists that this wasn't a circus. But today's Q&A will be as interesting and surely even more so in parts because he takes questions -- just about any kind of question -- directly from the Russian public. From Sputnik's report today:
[...]
People from across the nation will be able to speak with the president on various topics via telephones, text messages, a website or a special mobile application.
[...]
Russian citizens have submitted more than a million questions since the announcement of the session on 9 June.
Last year's "Direct Line" lasted a record amount of time, four hours and twenty minutes, during which President Putin answered dozens of questions and was also able for the first time to directly contact members of the government and regional authorities via a conference call during the event to issue orders or clarify situations.
According to President Putin's Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, this option will also be available this year.

No call left behind. Inquiries that can't be fit into the live Q&A will still be recorded, reviewed, and responded to by officials.   

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