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Gasps, gags and cabbage: a look back at Putin’s annual Q&As
MOSCOW, Dec 20, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on
Thursday holds his 14th end-of-year press conference since he came to power
at the turn of the century.
The wide ranging, marathon question-and-answer sessions have thrown up
their fair share of memorable moments over the years.
Here AFP looks back at the comedy and the drama.
– The gags – However serious the main themes of Putin’s conferences, the
president always manages to find time for at least one “joke”.
The gags are normally obscure and the humour dark and questionable, as in
the anecdote he told in 2017 when asked about Russia’s increase in military
spending.
A son tells his ex-military father he has swapped their knife for a watch.
“Ah yes, it’s a good watch,” the father replies. “And when robbers come
tomorrow to kill the whole family and rape your big sister, you will be able
to go out and tell them — ‘the time in Moscow is…'”
– The drama –
Perhaps the most dramatic press conference moment actually came after the
end of the 2013 event, when Putin unexpectedly told a group of journalists he
would pardon jailed oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
“He has served more than 10 years in prison, that is a serious
punishment,” he said of Russia’s once richest man until he fell foul of the
Kremlin.
– The reporters –
Many journalists at the press conference bring eye-catching banners to
encourage Putin to call on them, despite questions having to be sent to the
Kremlin in advance.
One memorable exchange between president and reporter came in 2012, when
Putin asked a journalist who was quizzing him on corruption to sit down,
using the familiar “you” form.
“Thanks Vova,” she replied, using a familiar form of his name — the
equivalent of addressing the US president as “Donny”. The moment quickly
became a meme.
– The length –
The annual media gatherings have attracted attention in the West largely
due to their outsize running times.
The longest of all was in 2008, when Putin treated journalists to a
blockbuster four hours and 40 minutes before he left the Kremlin for a four-
year stint as prime minister.
Since 2006, the shortest Q&A has come in at three hours, 10 minutes —
roughly the length of a screening of the epic film “Titanic”.
– The words of wisdom –
Spare a thought for the simultaneous interpreters working to bring Putin’s
musings to foreign audiences in real time.
“A leader should not be like a bearded man who idly picks out cabbage from
his beard, all the while looking at how the state turns into a muddy puddle
from which oligarchs pluck out the golden fish,” the president explained to
journalists last year.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1025 hrs