Presidential Q&A: Putin Prepares to Host Russia’s Most Anticipated Direct Talk With the People
The annual nationwide phone-in Q&A with Vladimir Putin will be held on Thursday, June 7. This will be the 16th time when the President will answer live questions from Russian people. They come from different sources, including phone calls, www.moskva-putinu.ru, social media, text messages, group messages, and video calls. There are already about one million questions, and still four days left. Obviously, Vladimir Putin won't be able to answer all the questions. However, that doesn't mean he won't see them later. Do you remember the green folders the President had after the last phone-in when he met up with the governors, demanded them to resolve the issues? It worked perfectly.
This year, the phone-in will be held in a new format. The President will be able to immediately assign tasks to the governors via conference call. The nationwide live phone-in with Vladimir Putin will be held on Thursday at 12 PM. It will be broadcast live, obviously, by our channel: Russia. The other networks that will broadcast the event are Channel One, Russia 24, and OTR. These radio stations will also broadcast the phone-in: Mayak, Vesti FM, and Radio Russia. Online text and video broadcasting will be handled by RIA.ru, the leading news agency in Russia, which is the Rossiya Segodnya (Russia Today) agency. There is still time to ask your question.
Which issues have concerned Russians the most over the past year? Dmitry Kaistro has the answer, along with the updates on the latest preparations for the phone-in.
- Hello, you've reached the editorial office of "Live Phone-In with Vladimir Putin". This phone call is free, my name is Oksana.
This unified call center works 24/7. It's an enormous informational magnet that attracts questions from all over the country. Thousands of calls are constantly coming in with questions for "Live Phone-In with Vladimir Putin." People don't just want to tell their leader about specific problems, global issues worry them, like Russia's position in the world, the introduction of information technologies, the environment, and many other issues.
Olga Dubikova, a call-center operator: "We switch out operators several times throughout the day to ensure full attention to the questions."
Dozens of operators with polite voices help people to clear formulate their question. The oldest caller so far is 98 years old, the youngest one is 3. Often, people don't just ask questions or make suggestions, they're wondering about Russia's future, the country's place in the world, domestic resources, milestones for growth, the global economy, and geopolitics. Children ask as many questions as adults do.
- Hello, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. I'd like to ask you a question. What countries would you like to maintain relations with?"
Video questions are probably the most interesting among all of the questions asked.
Larisa Menyaeva, a call-center operator: "It provides visual contact with the caller. We empathize more this way, we really feel their concerns".
Also, such questions clearly illustrate what people want to tell the President. Here, workers fill in potholes with broken bricks. And here, they battle minor flooding with excavators. In the Omsk Oblast, hoodwinked investors record video questions. Olga from Samara shows a shack without heat or water, but her entire family still lives there.
- Driven to despair, I reach out to our President for help.
People call with feedback and suggestions, it's a nationwide suggestion box. Russian have clear vision of necessary measures for a breakthrough. All of the incoming calls are documented and will be placed in the famous green folders that Putin will personally send to every governor after the broadcast.
- I sincerely ask Vladimir Vladimirovich to help us with gas infrastructure development.
- Did I get your question correctly? 'Vladimir Vladimirovich, our village lacks healthcare or any type of medical assistance.' Do they have a place to live? —Yes, a one-bedroom apartment.
The call center's operation is meticulously thought through. The operator must take down the message, the caller's name and city, and, often, help people rephrase their question. All the operators went through special selection and training process. Talking to people requires respect, patience, psychological skills, and empathy to the other party.
Tatyana Ryabova, the Head of the Training Center: "Many people think it's easy to ask a question, but once they reach the operator, they get confused. However, every caller gets the attention and the help that they need, and there is no time limit.
Emil Vorobyev, a call-center operator: "First, we let them speak uninterrupted, so they don't lose their train of thought, while we take notes in our feedback form. Then, we clarify the information, correcting it when needed".
To call the phone-in line from Russia, dial 8 (800) 200-40-40. Russians also send messages via the social media websites, www.vk.com and www.ok.ru, which allows for both text and video messages. Also, messages are accepted on the official website and via the app, Moskva-Putinu. The website also has all of the essential information about the live phone-in with the President.
For the first time ever this year, operators have help with processing all the inquiries for Vladimir Putin in the form of volunteers, some of which are famous artists and directors. Their goal is to help sort through the calls and organize people's inquiries.
"I'm concerned about the retirement age in Russia".
Evgeny Mironov: "Thank you, this question is very important".
Evgeny Mironov, People's Artist of Russia: "Many questions have similar topics, like utilities. We need to classify and organize these inquiries, and send them to proper authorities".
Sergey Bezrukov: "The problem is that the building was built in 1980, but wasn't renovated, it's falling into disrepair".
Sergey Bezrukov, Russia's People's Artiste: "The people already know there's someone responsible for the inquiry they've made for the President, it's my duty to do it".
Besides Moscow, call-centers are open in three other cities: Lipetsk, Chelyabinsk, and Yekaterinburg.
Anastasia Guselnikova, Ural Region phone-in coordinator: "We only accept voice calls, and there is no time limit, which is important. This way, if a person wants to talk to us for a long time, they have all the time they need. For example, we had a phone call on the first day which lasted for five hours".
This room has special microclimate with a specific temperature and humidity level. Complex equipment which receives and saves requests is located in several rooms. Last year, special equipment helped process over two million inquiries. And, that's not the limit. All of the equipment is reliable and has full backup storage.
Andrey Levakov, Rostelekom's Technical Director: "If this equipment fails, we have backup equipment that preserves all of the inquiries. All the data will be saved, it works like clockwork".
The questions will be accepted until the end of the live phone-in with the President, which will take place on June 7th.
Dmitry Kaistro, Vesti News of the Week.