Putin Assumes People’s Title of "Grand-Daddy of Russia" At Live Press Conference

Dmitry Kiselyov: On Thursday, Putin held the last press conference for the year. This is a traditional event during which the President answers questions live on TV. We’re going to watch a big report. but first, let's briefly recollect some most lapidary phrasing: "We’ll ensure our security without getting involved in an arms race".

Or about Ukraine: "What Saakashvili is doing is a slap in the face to both the Georgian and Ukrainian people. How can you still tolerate this?"

Russia’s indisputable success: "We're now first in the world in terms of grain exports. This is a brilliant indicator!"

Responding to the initiative to ban abortion, but it seems to have a broader meaning: "We shouldn't act impulsively".

And to Ksenia Sobchak, who was expectedly wearing a red dress and holding a sign "Against everyone": "Are you against everyone present or everyone in general?"

About how Chechnya brings the taken away children from Syria: "Ramzan is doing the right thing. Let him do it, we'll support this".

Our political observer Pavel Zarubin will tell you more about everything.

Putin: Wait a minute! Guys, be quiet, please!

Dmitry Peskov, President’s Press Secretary: Don't shout!

Putin: Just a second.

It was difficult for the journalists to control themselves, They remember how it was last years. They know that they need to shout harder, and they have to take their seats in advance to sit in the front rows.

— Do not step on my feet!

— It’s better to stand closer.

— How long have you been here?

— 40 minutes, probably.

— A warm atmosphere of journalists.

— It’s even hot.

Putin's press conferences have always aroused excitement, but this year, the interest is just off the scale because this is the last President Putin’s big meeting with the journalists and the first Putin's press conference after he announced that he would register as a candidate.

Andrey Kolesnikov, Kommersant: Who will you be running as? Who will you represent?

— It will be a self-nomination. Of course, I very much count on the support of the political forces that share my views on the country’s development and have faith in me.

— What will the new government look like? Will the current Government last the time before the election?

— On the whole, the Government is fairly confident and its performance is satisfactory. As for the future configuration, it should probably be discussed after the election. Although, naturally, I do have some tentative ideas.

Alexander Yunashev, Life: Why hasn't a normal, influential opposition candidate emerged in almost 20 years of your rule?

— In order to make your question a bit more poignant, have a look at the young lady holding up a poster saying "Putin, bye-bye."

Young lady: Putin-babay.

— Ah, babay. Give her the microphone. My vision isn't getting any better with age.

Young lady: I’m sorry. "Putin-babay" means "Grandfather Putin" in Tatar. This is how children call you in our republic.

And that was how the entire press conference went on. Putin picked the most pressing questions and those who could ask them. And several times he stressed that he’s for the real political competition, but people remember what happened and see what became out of it.

— We lived in conditions of civil war for a long time. The country was forced to send 18- and 19-year-old boys, unprepared and untrained, to face bullets because there was no other choice. Now, look at our army. Our debt decreased three-fold and the national reserves increased 30 times. This is something. When we talk about the opposition, it’s important to not just make noise out there on public squares or behind the scenes, and talk about a regime that is against the people. It's important to offer something, some improvement.

In the apartment with panoramic windows overlooking the Moscow City skyscrapers, Ksenia Sobchak was preparing for Putin's press conference in the morning. A make-up artist, a hairdresser, a political consultant. A bright red dress. Both before the press conference and after it, dozens of TV cameras were around the TV presenter, filming her complaints about the lack of media’s attention.

Ksenia Sobchak, journalist: All candidates have a completely unequal access to the media. Based on...

Vesti reporter: You've already participated in some talk shows.

Sobchak: Some, you say? Look at how many Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev participated in. And not just in talk shows. It was on the federal television where you work.

Vesti reporter: The President is fulfilling his duties. And who are you?

Sobchak: Do you think he shouldn’t be accountable to the people and participate in the debate?

Vesti reporter: Doesn’t he report to the people?

Sobchak: No, he doesn’t.

— Just a moment, Ksenia would like to say something against everybody. Please.

Ksenia Sobchak complains practically about the same. Putin is listening attentively and giving a well-rounded answer.

— Your slogan is "Against everyone." Is this a positive action program? What are you proposing to resolve the problems we are discussing today? Do you want us to live from one Maidan to the next? To survive attempted coups? We have been through all this.

Tatyana Felgengauer is wearing a similar red dress. Out of 1600 journalists, she was also given the opportunity to ask a question.

— God bless you. I hope you are doing well.

The Ekho Moskvy journalist is extremely dissatisfied with the rule of law in Russia and is very pleased to have said about it on air to the whole country.

Tatyana Felgengauer, The Ekho of Moscow: I'm glad I asked about that. It means much for me.

Vesti reporter: We’re glad to see you, we were very worried about you.

Felgengauer: Yes, thank you. Sorry, thank you very much.

Vesti reporter: Were you satisfied with the President's answer?

Felgengauer: I'm not sure how Rossiya 1 uses the materials later.

ZIK TV host: Hello, Tatyana. Welcome to the ZIK TV channel.

The journalist told the Ukrainian ZIK television channel about her impression.

ZIK TV host: Do the press conferences questions go through some kind of preliminary selection?

Felgengauer: No, nobody coordinates their questions.

Ukranian journalist: We also wanted to ask a question to Vladimir Putin.

But again, it was Tsimbalyuk who did, say the Ukrainian reporters with jealousy. In recent years, everyone got used to the fact that the Kiev agency UNIAN’s journalist Roman Tsimbalyuk, in spite of any of his phrases, is always given the microphone. This time, Tsimbalyuk also filmed the press conference behind the scene and told what he thought about his colleagues in his video.

Roman Tsimbalyuk, UNIAN: Here are all Russian propagandists and foreigners, such as myself.

This video was titled "How the personality cult is created." The video clearly shows that Roman Tsimbalyuk is actually very famous. He is constantly being asked for an interview and asked what the question to Putin will be.

Tsimbalyuk: About the war, the Russian invasion of Donbass and Crimea, about Ukrainian citizens held in Ukraine. I apologize, in the Russian Federation.

— Bashkiria is nearby, but in my mind, in my understanding, Ukraine is also not far from there. Here comes Ukraine, please go ahead.

Tsimbalyuk: Ukraine and Bashkiria are far from each other. We are only familiar with your Buryat guys.

— Judging by the lack of any accent in your Russian, I believe mentally Bashkiria is not as far from Ukraine as you think in terms of geography. There is no Russian army on the territory of Donbass but there are certain militia formations that are self-sufficient and ready to repel any large-scale actions against Donbass.

Yelena Glushakova, Russia Today: One more question about the Ukrainian politician Saakashvili. What do you think about his future in Ukraine?

— Here is a man who was the President of the independent Georgian state, and now he’s running from square to square yelling for the whole world to hear: "I’m a Ukrainian!" Are there no genuine Ukrainians in Ukraine? And Ukraine puts up with all this. It’s such a pity to see. My heart is bleeding.

Several American journalists are in the hall. In the US, even small-town mayors hide from Russian reporters. In Russia, American media can easily come the President's press conference.

Kate de Pury, Associated Press: The US wants Russia to do more to persuade North Korea to halt its missile programs. Would Russia support tougher sanctions against North Korea?

— You’re such interesting people. Have you noticed that members of US Congress put us on the same level with North Korea and Iran, and at the same time, they continue to prod the President to talk us into addressing the issues of North Korea and the Iranian nuclear program together with your country? What is the matter with you?

Vesti reporter: Did you like his answer?

de Pury: Of course, I liked it. But, unfortunately, I can't express any opinion.

Terry Moran, ABC News: Where there’s that much smoke there must be fire. How would you explain the sheer number of contact between the Trump campaign and your government?

— That all this was invented by the people who stand in opposition to Mr. Trump to present his work as illegitimate. Do we need to ban any contacts at all? Our ambassador was accused of meeting with someone. But this is standard international practice.

Moran: It’s my first time here and I’m impressed with how the president holds such a press conference. It would be great if President Trump had a long press conference like Putin and could answer many questions from a large number of journalists from all over the country.

Sergey Brilev asked the president if Russia and the United States will start such an arms race that they will have to trim even social spending. An anecdote about an officer's conversation with his son followed as a response.

— "Son, I had a dagger here. Have you seen my dagger?" The boy replies, "Dad, don’t be mad. I swapped it for a watch with the kid next door". The officer says, "Let me see the watch". He looks at it and says, "A good watch, good for you. You know, robbers will come here tomorrow. They’ll kill me and your mother and will rape your elder sister, but you’ll come out to them and say: "Good evening, Moscow time is 12.30". We don’t want anything like that to happen, do we? So we'll pay due attention to developing the army and the navy without getting involved in an arms race or ruining our budget.

Xui Shinzui, International Radio of China: The presidential election will take place in Russia. How do you think the result of the election will impact Russia-China relations?

— I’m completely sure that there’s a nationwide consensus in Russia concerning the development of relations with China. Whatever the outcome of the elections, Russia and China will remain strategic partners for the long-term historical perspective.

German journalist: It was pleasantly surprising that a lively press conference is being held, during which different parties constantly ask various questions on sensitive issues, first of all about corruption, about the investment climate.

Stanislav Natanzon, Russia 24: Entrepreneurs continue to say that, if an official, a security officer or a semi-official goes after their company, they do not stand a chance. Are these officials and security officers the notorious fifth column, traitors?

— I think you are overdramatizing. "Traitors," "fifth column". "Oh no! Grab the suitcases, the train is leaving!" This is a complicated issue, let’s face it. About a year ago, I invited Mr. Bortnikov, the FSB Director, if someone here doesn't know him, to give him the materials I had received from a source regarding a certain organization. He looked through them, and – I’m sorry to say – told me: "Mr. President, we conducted an investigation at this organization six months ago. The entire department staff was arrested. New personnel was hired six months ago, and everything began anew there." Frankly, I don’t know sometimes what we can do about this. However, there is an obvious solution. It's a component of military service. Officers are transferred to a new deployment site every three to five years. Maybe we should use this approach in law enforcement.

And this was, of course, among the biggest press-conference news. That day, however, there were plenty of them. There will be a trial with the tariffs, which managing companies charge for their services. There is no maximum yet. They wanted to increase the payments by 30% and they did.

— It’s not good at all. What needs to be done? It’s necessary to impose restrictions, of course. Similar to utility payments, it’s imperative to introduce regulations on housing payments, and this must be done immediately. An important news for the 42 million people who owe money often not due to their fault but because of the system’s imperfection. This kind of tax debt amounts to 41 billion. Maybe some of my liberal opponents will criticize me for what I will say, but I believe that we should grant relief to these people. Moreover, this should be done with minimal red tape, without people having to come to the tax authorities. This is my first point. Second, the same should apply to individual entrepreneurs.

Putin understands that many economists won’t like such a decision. The same way they didn’t like the May Executive Orders.

— When they'd been issued, everybody started complaining that they were unworkable, that this wasn’t how wage increases should be planned, and that this was unacceptable. Nonetheless, I thought it was the right and necessary thing to do. 94 percent of the stated goals have been achieved.

And this means, as the President summed up, that next year, as planned, the May Orders will be fully implemented.

Pavel Zarubin, Alexander Berezhnoy, Filipp Dubrovsky, and Julia Brilyova,Vesti News of the Week.