Moscow, 20 December (H.S.): In an extraordinary breach of protocol during Russian President Vladimir Putin's meticulously orchestrated annual press conference and Direct Line phone-in on Friday, sarcastic messages from ordinary citizens momentarily disrupted the proceedings by flashing across a massive screen in the Kremlin's grand hall.
The event, a hallmark of the Russian political calendar watched by millions across the nation, invites public questions via text, calls, and live audience participation, blending formal journalism with grassroots input. However, rogue comments slipped through the filters, branding the session Not a direct line, but a circus and quipping, Vladimir Vladimirovich, it's Friday already, can we break out the booze? – a familiar address invoking the leader's full patronymic.
These unscripted jabs appeared amid incoming messages intended for presidential review, underscoring rare glitches in an otherwise tightly choreographed spectacle that often spans several hours.
Further texts vented deeper frustrations, with one probing Russia's economic woes by asking why ordinary Russians fared worse than residents of Papua New Guinea. Another cast doubt on electoral integrity, declaring: Looking at life in the country, it is strange that [United Russia] wins a majority in elections! Maybe elections are a fiction?
President Putin, presiding with characteristic composure, made no reference to the intrusions, while the Kremlin offered no immediate response, leaving observers to speculate on the implications for public sentiment in a nation grappling with ongoing geopolitical tensions.
The marathon session, held on December 19, 2025, also featured lighter moments elsewhere, including a Russian journalist's on-air marriage proposal to his girlfriend, as reported in related coverage, blending the surreal with the substantive amid discussions on domestic policy and international affairs.
Such incidents, though fleeting, highlight the unpredictable pulse of direct public engagement in Russia's annual rite, where the boundary between adulation and critique occasionally blurs.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
