Putin’s annual Q&A session set for April 14

(Interfax – April 11, 2016)

The Russian president will hold his annual televised question and answer session officially known as “The Direct Line with Vladimir Putin” on April 14, the Kremlin press service said.

President will speak directly with people from around the country and answer their questions on the country’s life and the international situation. People can also call or send SMS/MMS messages to the call center set up for the event, or record brief video questions. This year, for the first time, people can not only send pre-recorded video questions, but also make video live calls on the programme.

Internet audiences are requested to post their questions on the television program’s websites www.moskva-putinu.ru in the “questions” sections.

The 14th Q&A session will start at noon Moscow time and will be broadcast live by Channel One, Rossiya-1 and Rossiya-24 TV channels, and Mayak, Vesti FM and Radio Rossii radio stations.

As in the past, people from all around Russia can call the following number: 8-800-200-40-40. Calls from fixed-line and mobile phones are free. If you are calling from abroad, you can call +7-499-550-40-40, +7-495-647-40-40, and +7-495-539-40-40.

Questions in SMS and MMS form can be sent to the number 0-40-40 only via Russian mobile communications operators. Messages are free. Questions must be in Russian and contain no more than 70 characters.

The president’s first session was held in 2001, lasting two-and-half hours. Since that time, his 13 appearances have totaled 40 hours.