Putin opens up to Russians, but tricky questions vanish
Moscow, June 15: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual televised phone-in show began with the usual choreographed fanfare on Thursday, but kept oscillating between the personal and the political.
The 40-minute show, in which Mr Putin slammed US’ fresh sanctions, questioned the conduct of ex-FBI chief James Comey, also afforded viewers a rare glimpse into his family, and they got to see a handful of uncensored — and awkward — questions flitting across the screen, only to disappear quickly.
During the marathon chat with Russians, Mr Putin dismissed allegations that Russia meddled in the US vote, and instead accused Washington of doing precisely that around the world. “Constant American propaganda, constant feeding of USoriented NGOs... Is that
The thing is, I don’t want them (my grandchildren) to grow up like hereditary princes, I want them to grow up to be normal people — Vladimir Putin
Continued from Page 1 not influencing our minds?… Take the globe, spin it, point a finger, and you’ll find American interests there, and you’ll definitely find their meddling,” he said.
Mr Putin, a former KGB officer, said he found Mr Comey’s behaviour strange for a security official. “He said suddenly that he had recorded the conversation with the President and then passed it to the media through his friend… When the head of a security service records a conversation with the commander-in-chief and passes it to the media... Then how is the FBI director different from Mr Snowden?… Speaking of which, if he is persecuted, we would be ready to offer him asylum in Russia. He should know this.”
Confirming a revelation from a series of interviews by US filmmaker Oliver Stone that have been airing in the US this week, Mr Putin said, “I have grandchildren. They live normal lives.” He said that one grandchild was “already in preschool” and that “my second grandson was born recently”, which garnered applause in the studio. But, he added, that he did not want to identify them by name. “The thing is, I don’t want them to grow up like hereditary princes, I want them to grow up to be normal people… If I mention ages and names, they would be identified and never left alone,” he said.
Mr Putin’s family life is a taboo subject in Russia, though media outlets have reported on one of his daughter’s business connections and marriage details, as well as her passion for acrobatic rock ‘n’ roll dance.
The Russian leader divorced his wife Lyudmila in 2014 and she has since vanished from public view.
As Mr Putin reassured the public that he was aware of the nation’s problems, many of the texted questions and comments that sporadically appeared on the screen took a decidedly more caustic view of his rule.
“Putin, do you really think people believe this circus with staged questions?” was a telling example.
Another of the unsigned questions referred to Opposition leader and anticorruption campaigner Alexei Navalny, who is currently in jail after calling on his supporters to stage an unauthorised demonstration in Moscow on Monday.
Mr Navalny’s video claiming that PM Dmitry Medvedev hides mansions and vineyards through shadowy nonprofit organisations has been viewed more than 23 million times on YouTube.